Northern Ireland

A former police officer who was convicted of a number of sexual offences involving children has been sentenced to one year of imprisonment and two years on licence, after the Court of Appeal in Belfast found his suspended sentence to be unduly lenient. The 85-year-old man committed his most recent o

Mr Justice Bernard McCloskey has been sworn in as a Lord Justice of Appeal in Northern Ireland. The senior judge, who was appointed to the High Court in 2008, was sworn into office at a ceremony in the Royal Courts of Justice this morning.

Belfast lawyers Ciaran O'Hare and Conan Fegan have travelled to London to perform a watching brief in the Gina Miller case against the prorogation of Parliament. Mr O'Hare and Mr Fegan are acting as solicitor and junior counsel respectively in a separate court case brought by victims' campaigner Ray

Sexual offences cases in Northern Ireland took an average of nearly two years to be dealt with last year, according to new figures. The Department of Justice said the median processing time for cases where the main offence was in the sexual offences category was 667 days in 2018/19.

Around 35,000 children have been stopped and searched by PSNI officers in the past nine years with little benefit for community safety, a major stop and search policing conference will hear today. The new PSNI chief constable, Simon Byrne, is among those attending the conference at Queen's Universit

Independent unionist MP Lady Sylvia Hermon has called on the UK government to publish advice from the Crown Solicitor's Office in Belfast on the impact of a no-deal Brexit on the Good Friday Agreement. Lady Hermon, MP for North Down, told the House of Commons yesterday that Prime Minister Boris John

Prisons expert Professor Phil Scraton has called for an independent inquiry into mental health services in Northern Ireland prisons after an internal review was postponed again. Former Justice Minister Claire Sudgen announced a review of procedures regarding vulnerable people in custody in 2016, but

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has launched a new online video which provides an overview of the Society’s client complaints process.

Northern Ireland lawyers Claire Edgar and Gráinne Murphy are in Norway this week for a major conference on domestic violence. The European Conference on Domestic Violence, which was previously held in Belfast in 2016, is meeting this week in Oslo.

A legal challenge by former SDLP councillor Máiría Cahill over the requirement for local election candidates to disclose their home address will come before the Northern Ireland courts this week. Ms Cahill, who is supported in her case by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (N

Law Centre NI has moved to new premises in Belfast with effect from today. The charity offers free independent legal advice and assistance in the areas of employment, social security, health & social care and immigration & asylum.

Belfast solicitor Charlene Dempsey will deliver a talk on advising clients in police custody at the next Northern Ireland Young Solicitors Association (NIYSA) CPD event. Ms Dempsey, of HHD Solicitors, is the guest speaker at the CPD event on Friday 20 September in Law Society House.

Belfast solicitor Laura Banks has warned that the UK government could be brought to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) over its failure to legislate following a landmark ruling on Widowed Parent's Allowance. Ms Banks acted for Siobhan McLaughlin in the case, which was heard by the UK Supreme

The interim advocate for victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse has sought a meeting with Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith over fears that the prorogation of Parliament will set back legislation for redress. Conservative MP Simon Hoare, chair of the Northern Ireland select co

The Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, will hear victims' rights campaigner Raymond McCord's legal challenge to the prorogation of Parliament tomorrow. Mr McCord launched the challenge in the High Court in Belfast two weeks ago in a bid to prevent the Prime Minister from suspending Parliament to