Northern Ireland

A support service for victims of sexual violence in Northern Ireland will close at the end of the month in advance of a new state-led service being launched. Victim Support NI announced "with regret" that its independent sexual violence advocate (ISVA) service would close on 31 August 2021.

The Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI) has launched a new restorative justice practice framework setting out its ambition to become the leading organisation for the delivery of restorative practices for adults at all stages of the criminal justice system. As one of the first steps in implem

UK law firm Shoosmiths, with an office in Belfast, saw its average profit per equity partner (PEP) rose sharply by 41 per cent to £658,000, according to its latest financial results. The firm also announced turnover of £167.9 million for the year to April 2021, an increase of nine per ce

A man with a learning disability has settled a case alleging disability harassment against retailer B&M for £5,000 without admission of liability with support from the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI). During his 18 months at B&M in a stock-filling role, Harvey Spence sa

Relaxed blood donation rules allowing for more gay and bisexual men to donate blood in Northern Ireland will be brought into effect next week. Until 2016, there was a blanket ban on men who have had sex with other men donating blood in Northern Ireland.

UN experts have expressed "grave concern" that UK government plans to end all prosecutions for incidents during the Troubles, including killings, will amount to a policy of blanket impunity for serious human rights violations. Fabián Salvioli, the special rapporteur on the promotion of truth,

Queen's University Belfast School of Law has been admitted as a member to the prestigious Law Schools Global League (LSGL). Founded in 2012 by a group of leading law schools, the LSGL brings together institutions that share a commitment to integrating global law into their teaching and research.

Lisa Bryson, partner and head of employment law at Eversheds Sutherland in Belfast, warns employers to be aware of the potential issues around vaccines. The issue of mandatory vaccines in the workplace has provoked lots of discussion, debate and concern. Tech giants Google and Facebook have told th

The construction supply chain struggled to keep up with increasing new housing and infrastructure development in the second quarter of 2021, a new report from RICS and commercial law firm Tughans has found. With total workloads showing strong growth, there were also problems reported with the cost o

Belfast-based law firm Cleaver Fulton Rankin has announced the appointment of director Kerry McCloy to lead a new legal technology group. Ms McCloy and a team of eight project managers, solicitors and legal professionals will provide large-scale document review and expert eDiscovery services to near

John L. Leckey, the former senior coroner for Northern Ireland, has passed away at the age of 73. Mr Leckey, who retired in October 2015 after more than three decades overseeing inquests, passed away yesterday, according to the Law Society of Northern Ireland.

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal by the Department for Communities (DfC) in a challenge against the legislation which provides that certain people with a terminal illness can receive welfare benefits without undergoing a full assessment. Handing down the judgment yesterday on behalf of a th

A joint action plan aimed at helping to resolve parental conflict over children outside of an adversarial court environment has been published by Northern Ireland's justice and health ministers. The Private Family Law Early Resolution Action Plan aims to change the way parental disputes are approach

The Bar of Northern Ireland has welcomed the publication of the delivery plan for modernisation of the civil and family justice system. Justice minister Naomi Long yesterday published her plan of actions to be taken over the remainder of the current Assembly mandate to make the system more accessibl

Staff at JMK Solicitors and CRASH Services have raised £13,000 so far in 2021 in the second year of their partnership with charity partner Cancer Fund for Children. The charity supports children and young people diagnosed with cancer or living with a parent diagnosed with cancer. It offers sup