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The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has told Oireachtas members that emergency legislation related to COVID-19 must be used only exceptionally and be subject to strict human rights standards and oversight. Chief commissioner Sinéad Gibney and commission member Sunniva McDonagh

The Law Reform Commission has published a new discussion paper on Ireland's domestic implementation of international obligations. The paper does not include recommendations and instead aims to assist policymakers, the Oireachtas, statutory bodies, NGOs and academics to understand the development of

The Maples Group has announced its sponsorship of The Eagle, a legal publication run by students at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). The sponsorship is part of a programme supporting a number of student initiatives across national universities and the Maples Group say they are

English nationalism has led to an "economic united Ireland", Belfast solicitor Niall Murphy has said. In an interview with The Irish Times, Mr Murphy, a partner at KRW LAW LLP, called for more work to explore the practicalities of Irish unity.

A police dog reared from a puppy into an "absolute unit" has been retired before his first day of duty for being too "sweet-natured". Balou was eight weeks old when acquired by police in Bremerhaven, Germany, and was trained for nearly a year-and-a-half, The Times reports.

Jonathan Kelly has been named as the new managing partner of Philip Lee, taking over the leadership of the law firm from its founder of the same name. Philip Lee, who founded the firm in 1993 and oversaw its growth into a full-service commercial law firm with offices in Dublin, London, Brussels and

Senior civil servant Oonagh McPhillips has taken on the role of secretary general of the Department of Justice and Equality. Ms McPhillips will succeed outgoing secretary general Aidan O'Driscoll, who is retiring after a 43-year career, for a seven-year term.

Health Minister Robin Swann has announced that he is calling a statutory public inquiry into the abuse reported at Muckamore Abbey Hospital. The inquiry follows two reports into the abuse at the hospital, and comes alongside an ongoing major police investigation.

Conversion therapy for LGBT people is set to be banned in Northern Ireland under plans agreed between ministers yesterday. Communities Minister Carál Ni Chuilín yesterday agreed to take the policy lead on the issue at a meeting with colleagues Health Minister Robin Swann and Justice Mi

The long-running inquiry into the NAMA scandal has been extended for a further three months until the end of 2020. The NAMA Commission of Investigation, led by John D. Cooke SC, was established by the Irish government in June 2017 and was originally due to deliver its final report by the end of June

Human rights campaigners have warned the UK government not to use the Northern Ireland peace process as a "bargaining chip" in the latest round of Brexit negotiations. The intervention comes after Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told MPs yesterday that provisions in the Internal Market Bill

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has published its latest edition of Folio, the conveyancing and land law journal. The latest edition, which can be found here, includes six articles written by legal professions that cover a range of conveyancing and land law issues.

Northern Ireland lawyers have been encouraged to respond to a Law Commission of England and Wales consultation on consumer law and insolvency. The consultation on consumer sales contracts concerns a draft bill which would reform the rules governing the transfer of ownership of goods to consumers in

A report into the Dóchas Centre has revealed that its inmates are faced with problems including severe overcrowding, xenophobic and threatening language, as well as difficulties arranging visits. The Irish Examiner said the report, which was obtained by the newspaper through a Freedom of

Benjamin Bestgen takes an honest look at marriage in his latest jurisprudential primer. See last week's here. During my legal studies, a professor opined that one of the most legally significant things the majority of people will ever do in their lives is to marry and divorce (the other th