Northern Ireland

A public consultation has been launched as part of a review of civil legal services in Northern Ireland. The Department of Justice is seeking views from people who have needed to get legal advice or help in court for issues including family courts, non-molestation order, faulty goods, exclusion from

Northern Ireland's Court of Appeal has quashed a conviction for murder in relation to the 1975 Forkhill landmine attack following a referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). Patrick Thompson received a life sentence with a 30-year minimum term for the murder of four British Army offic

UK legislation to automatically quash convictions linked to the Post Office Horizon scandal will be extended to Northern Ireland, the UK government has confirmed. A total of 26 convictions in Northern Ireland will now be quashed through the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill, which is expect

The Attorney General for Northern Ireland has ordered a fresh inquest into the killing of Official IRA man Joe McCann, which is unlikely to take place due to the UK government's controversial new legacy law. Mr McCann was shot and killed at the age of 24 in the Markets area of Belfast on 15 April 19

Northern Ireland's director of public prosecutions has publicly called for more funding in order to allow for the urgent appointment of additional prosecutors. Stephen Herron told BBC News NI that the annual budget of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) "has not kept pace with things", having been

Northern Ireland lawyers Jude Copeland and William Wilson have become 'champions' of legal wellbeing charity LawCare. Champions support LawCare's vision of a legal sector that values good mental health and where people thrive, by committing to work with the charity to raise awareness and generate op

Further legal action could be brought by victims and survivors of the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre following a decision not to prosecute any former British soldiers for perjury in relation to evidence they gave to successive inquiries, a lawyer has warned. Only one former British soldier, known as &l

A key Stormont committee was denied the opportunity to meaningfully review new EU legislation because the UK government took too long to notify MLAs about it, it has emerged. Members of the Windsor Framework democratic scrutiny committee were told they had missed their chance to hold an inquiry into

Northern Ireland's Department of Justice is consulting on fees for the recovery, storage and disposal of vehicles. The eight-week consultation seeks views on a possible 28 per cent uplift on the level of fees where a vehicle is removed due to being driven uninsured; being driven without due care and

Specialist domestic abuse prosecutors could be introduced to help make Northern Ireland's new domestic abuse law more effective, a report has suggested. Jacqui Durkin, the chief inspector of criminal justice in Northern Ireland, yesterday published her review of how Part 1 of the Domestic Abuse and

Northern Ireland parents should no longer be able to avail of the "reasonable punishment" defence to justify physically punishing a child, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has said. A new report published by the charity, which represents children's doctors in the UK, calls f

New law to provide greater protection for the owners of defective properties in Northern Ireland is to be brought forward. Northern Ireland's communities minister Gordon Lyons said the move would bring an end to the "unfair disparity" between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The head of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has signed a pledge to uphold the rule of law and the independence of the legal profession. Chief commissioner Alyson Kilpatrick joined Law Society president Darren Toombs to sign the Society's new pledge, launched in response to incre

New climate change reporting duties for Northern Ireland public bodies will come into operation in May 2024. Regulations laid in line with the landmark Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 will require the first reports to be submitted in October 2025.

Jim McCooe has been appointed to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland for a three-year term. Mr McCooe is currently a non-executive director and chair of the audit committee at Northern Ireland's Department of Health. He is also business improvement director at Healthy Kidz.