Northern Ireland

Landmark domestic abuse legislation has moved forward with amended provisions on legal aid after the bill was delayed by a major row over "repercussive financial impacts". MLAs last month approved an amendment brought by Rachel Woods, Green MLA for North Down, in the face of opposition from Justice

Former director of public prosecutions Barra McGrory QC has been appointed to the board of Na Píobairí Uilleann (NPU), the body promoting all aspects of uilleann piping. His appointment follows a change in the NPU's constitution to provide for membership at board level of "persons who

The Northern Ireland Executive is "failing children and young people", the Children's Law Centre has told the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In a report submitted to the committee, the law centre said there has been a "systemic failure" to incorporate the principles of the UN Conve

Family lawyer Claire Edgar, partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, examines the issue of equality in divorce settlements. It is 20 years since the House of Lords handed down the seminal judgement of White v White, which decided that, when determining each spouse’s contribution to the ma

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is investigating claims that the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) broke the law by failing to publish an equality assessment of its legacy proposals. The watchdog is investigating after a complaint was filed by the Committee on the Administration of Justice

Belfast and Newry firm JMK Solicitors has committed to paying all of its full-time members of staff a minimum annual salary of £20,000. The move, effective from the start of November, will see the firm effectively pay a minimum wage of £12.80 per hour rather than the statutory £8.7

Ownership of Bangor's historic courthouse has been transferred to a community group as part of a project to regenerate the Co Down town's seafront. Built in 1866, the courthouse was originally a branch of the Belfast Banking Company and contained a private residence for the bank manager and his fami

The independent inquiry into the recall of around 3,000 neurology patients in Belfast has been converted to a statutory public inquiry. Health Minister Robin Swann told MLAs that the inquiry was converted to a statutory public inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 from 11 December 2020.

Two Newry solicitors are set to undertake a gruelling half-marathon on Christmas morning in support of Women's Aid NI. Ryan Elliott and John Murphy, both from The Elliott-Trainor Partnership Solicitors, will run 13.1 miles on Christmas Day to raise funds for the charity in Armagh and Down.

Arthur Cox has announced the appointment of Maeve Williams, James Mulligan, Chris Dickison and Lucy McKee as associates in Belfast. Ms Williams has joined the corporate and commercial team, Ms McKee has joined the finance group and Mr Mulligan and Mr Dickison have joined the property team.

A child who suffered catastrophic brain injuries in a criminal assault should receive funding for expert reports and legal representation to support his appeal for greater compensation, a legal challenge will argue. The High Court in Belfast will today consider whether to grant leave for a judicial

A district judge in Northern Ireland who openly questioned why buying sex is a criminal offence but selling sex is not will now receive "specific guidance" on the issue. The comments made by Judge Ted Magill during a criminal trial were "inappropriate", the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, agr

Human rights "do not take a back seat during public emergencies", the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has said following a year of little progress on key rights issues. Launching its latest annual statement in a virtual event, the rights watchdog said there had been progress on some fronts

More gay and bisexual men will be eligible to donate blood in Northern Ireland following a further relaxation of the law. Until 2016, men who have had sex with other men were banned for life from donating blood in Northern Ireland.

Personal injury lawyers have launched legal action against Northern Ireland's Department of Justice (DOJ) over its decision not to set an interim personal injury discount rate pending legislation to introduce a new mechanism for setting the rate. The Department ran a consultation this summer on how