News

Lawyers have been urged by Ms Justice Mary Irvine, the new president of the High Court, to consider settling 320 personal injury cases which have been left "in limbo" since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement this morning, Ms Justice Irvine highlighted statistics showing that 97 per c

The number of proceeds of crime cases brought to the Irish courts by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) reached an all-time high last year, according to new figures. The CAB brought 31 new proceeds of crime cases last year, the highest number in its 24-year history, according to its annual report for

Working hours at Belfast and Newry firm JMK Solicitors have been reduced by a fifth, with no loss in pay, as part of an ongoing project to improve "work-life balance". The personal injury and road traffic accident specialist firm said its 60 staff members now have the option of working for four days

A 64-year-old cleaner has won an age and disability discrimination case in the Workplace Relations Commission with support from legal rights group FLAC. The woman, represented by FLAC managing solicitor Sinead Lucey, took proceedings after being dismissed on the grounds of age and ill health from he

The Law Society of Ireland has announced the winners of the 2020 Justice Media Awards, held online for the first time in the event’s 29-year history. The top award was presented to Conor Gallagher, crime correspondent at The Irish Times, for an article on the Ana Kriégel murder trial.

New Nightingale-style courts will be opened to deal with the backlog of more than half a million criminal cases that have built up during the pandemic, The Times reports. Ten sites have been identified by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), amongst them town halls and university lecture theatres, wh

The estate of the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is suing Netflix for copyright infringement because Sherlock Holmes is portrayed as too warm, empathetic and respectful of women in one of its upcoming films. Enola Holmes, due to be released this September, is based on a book series published in the 200

A winemaker has been barred from selling a non-alcoholic sparkling wine called "Nosecco" because the name is too similar to Prosecco. The High Court in London ruled this week on a years-long dispute between French winemaker Les Grands Chais de France (GCF) and Prosecco producers.

Comedian Sil Fox has instructed KRW LAW LLP to bring proceedings against the State following the collapse of a sexual assault case brought against him. The criminal case against the 87-year-old was dismissed by a judge last month after CCTV footage contradicted the complainant's evidence.

Northern Ireland's Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) is set to hold its first virtual pilot hearing next week. The landmark hearing will take place on Tuesday 30 June, closely following the first virtual planning hearing in Scotland earlier this week.

Prominent Belfast solicitor Patrick Cross, who was joint senior partner of Cleaver Fulton Rankin before his retirement in 2005, has passed away. Mr Cross, who was in his late 70s, passed away yesterday, the Law Society of Northern Ireland said in a statement.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said he is pursuing the establishment of a permanent memorial dedicated to the women of the Magdalen laundries. Mr Flanagan made the commitment after publishing the first report of the Dublin Honours Magdalenes events, held over two days in 2018 to fulfil two ke

The number of out-of-court disposals handed down in Northern Ireland, typically to low-level or first-time offenders, has fallen for a sixth consecutive year. Out-of-court disposals include cautionary disposals, informed warnings, completion of PPS-ordered youth conferencing plans and resolution thr

Breda O'Malley and Mary Kelleher of Hayes solicitors discuss the implications of a recent High Court ruling on the setting of certain minimum pay and conditions for workers in a number economic sectors. The High Court has struck down legislation providing for the setting of certain mi

Tom O'Malley, a law lecturer and barrister with expertise in criminal law, sentencing, criminal procedure and constitutional law, looks at an interesting English experiment in virtual jury trials. The resumption of jury trials for serious criminal offences is probably the biggest difficulty facing t