Northern Ireland

Queen's University Belfast School of Law has announced the appointment of business ethics expert Professor Harry Van Buren III as an honorary professor. Professor Van Buren is the Barbara and David A. Koch Endowed Chair of Business Ethics at the University of St. Thomas’ Opus College of Busine

The Court of Appeal in Belfast has reserved judgment on whether a judicial review alleging Prime Minister Boris Johnson acted in bad faith by signing the Brexit deal should be heard. An anonymous litigant is appealing a decision by the senior judicial review judge not to adjudicate on whether the Pr

A legal challenge brought by unionist politician Jim Allister against the Northern Ireland Protocol will be heard by the High Court in Belfast next month. Mr Allister, leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party, has instructed lawyers to challenge the Protocol on the basis that it breaches

A high-profile trial concerning evidence given to a Stormont committee about the Nama property scandal will be heard without a jury in an unprecedented step. Former Sinn Féin MLA Daithi McKay, Sinn Féin member Thomas O'Hara and loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson are facing a Crown Court tri

Proposals to introduce a statutory duty of candour for healthcare organisations have gone out to consultation. Healthcare organisations and everyone working for them would be required to be "open and honest in all their dealings with patients and the public" under the proposed legislation.

The Department of Health has launched a consultation on extending temporary arrangements for "flexibility" in children's social care until November. Regulations were introduced in May to provide HSC Trusts and other children’s social care providers with temporary modifications to support them

The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) has extended its contract for the use of the International Convention Centre (ICC) as a courts venue for a further three months. The ICC was deployed in January as Northern Ireland’s first “Nightingale venue” to facilitate c

Two law firms have merged to form MacAllister McAleese Solicitors, a new full-service practice based in Larne and led by experienced solicitors David McAleese and Kevin MacAllister.

Horwich Farrelly's Northern Ireland team has moved to larger premises in Belfast following its continued growth. The defendant insurance specialist firm, which opened its Belfast office in 2018, has moved into Urban HQ in Upper Queen Street after outgrowing its former base in the Scottish Provident

One in five law firms in Northern Ireland made redundancies last year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new research published by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. The results from two Law Society surveys of member firms, conducted in May 2020 and November/December 2020, have bee

The winter 2020 edition of the Journal of Elder Law and Capacity has been published by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. Available from the Law Society website, it includes articles on advance directives, discretionary variation of trusts and solicitors' experience as executors, as well as book r

Victims of sexual offences will receive publicly-funded independent legal advice under a pilot scheme launched today. The new scheme fulfils one of the recommendations of retired Court of Appeal judge Sir John Gillen’s high-profile review of the law and procedures in serious sexual offences in

Crucial reforms to sexual offence trials have been delayed and victims of sexual offences now have to wait up to three years for a trial to commence as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. A new report from Criminal Justice Inspectorate Northern Ireland (CJINI) highlights improvements in the way sexua

Lawyers have launched a class action lawsuit against the UK government over the economic impact of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Ballymena-based haulage company Blair International and DUP MP Ian Paisley have been named as the initial claimants in the claim form lodged with the High Court in London

A new chairperson will be appointed to the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) in May following a one-month extension to the current chair's term. Economy Minister Diane Dodds yesterday announced that Marie Mallon would remain in place as chair of the LRA board until 30 April 2021.