Northern Ireland

Proposals to allow coroners in Northern Ireland to hold inquests into deaths abroad have gone out for consultation. The consultation, which will run until 22 December 2022, seeks views on whether current legislation should be changed to allow an inquest to be held when a death has occurred abroad an

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that it was unreasonable for an applicant to be denied legal aid, including the support of a senior counsel, for his asylum appeal where he was entitled to this during his original High Court case. This application involved a challenge to a decision

A former subpostmaster convicted in connection with the Post Office Horizon scandal has become the first in Northern Ireland to have his conviction quashed. Alan McLaughlin, a subpostmaster in Belfast, was convicted in February 2005 of false accounting offences over an alleged discrepancy of around

Controversial UK government plans to end criminal prosecutions for killings linked to the Troubles are "unlikely" to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights, a Westminster committee has said. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation Bill) proposes to create a new independ

The Bar of Northern Ireland, with the support of Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan, has launched a new Legal Diversity Project aimed at promoting equality, inclusion and social mobility throughout the legal profession. An inaugural event which took place at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfas

The UK government has announced it will commission abortion services in Northern Ireland following the failure of the devolved Department of Health to do so. The commissioning of abortion services follows the making of regulations in May 2022 which provided the UK government with the same powers as

A new pre-action protocol for defamation and other media and communication claims has come into effect in Northern Ireland. The protocol applies to all cases in the Court of Judicature and County Court involving claims in defamation, misuse of private information, breach of confidence, data protecti

Northern Ireland will become the first part of the UK and one of the first countries in the world to introduce miscarriage leave and pay under plans now out for consultation. The two-month consultation follows the recent introduction of the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act (Northern Ireland)

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that it was in the best interests for a 21-month-old child to be adopted, without a contact order, where the actions of the parents represented a cycle of neglect which showed no signs of improving. RH was born in January 2021 and was 21 months old

A barrister who claimed legal aid fees for an "obviously impossible" amount of work — in some cases for more than 24 hours' work per day — has been fined £50,000 and suspended from practice for two months. The Bar of Northern Ireland's disciplinary appeal committee has determined t

Richard Gray, partner and head of corporate at Belfast-based Carson McDowell, welcomes new clarity on creditor duty. The UK Supreme Court considered the existence, content, and engagement of ‘creditor duty’ for the first time ever in the matter of BTI 2014 LLC (Appellant) v Sequana SA an

Belfast-based Cleaver Fulton Rankin has published its latest responsible business report, setting out its work over the past year including the launch of a new ESG Hub. The firm's four areas of focus are the environment, clients, people and community, and its responsible business strategy is also al

Seven lawyers have been elected to the committee of the In-House Lawyers' Group Northern Ireland (IHLGNI) for 2022/23 following its AGM yesterday. The new committee is made up of Ciarán Fegan of Graham Group; Sean Grego of Citibank; Anne MacRandal of Autism Initiatives Group; Julie-Ann McCaff

Les Allamby, former chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC), has joined JUSTICE as a council member. The UK-wide charity appointed a number of new board and council members following its 65th AGM on Wednesday.

Northern Ireland's new three-year modern slavery and human trafficking strategy has gone out to consultation. The 12-week public consultation seeks views and comments from individuals and organisations across all sectors to ensure that the resulting strategy is as informed, comprehensive and effecti