Family Law

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed a father’s appeal against the High Court’s refusal to make an order for the return of his children from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland. Delivering judgment for the Court of Appeal, Lady Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan expla

The High Court has, on appeal, made orders for proper provision for a woman who was misled into signing an unfavourable separation agreement by her then-husband. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Mr Justice John Jordan opined: “The husband literally led his wife up the garden path and fo

Italy did not violate Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights by removing a woman from the birth certificate of a child born in Italy to same-sex parents by means of assisted reproduction abroad, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. The court yesterday handed down its 6-1 major

Upcoming legislation must "finally provide a workable framework for assisted human reproduction", an Oireachtas committee has said. The Oireachtas joint committee on health has made 18 recommendations in its report on pre-legislative scrutiny of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) (Amendment) B

A new social media awareness campaign has been launched to encourage compliance with child maintenance orders. The awareness campaign is to run across several social media and video platforms from today.

A new podcast series co-hosted by former Supreme Court judge Ms Justice Marie Baker will analyse recent divorce and judicial separation cases. The Bar of Ireland will release the podcast — co-hosted by Clare Collins SC — every Thursday for six weeks, beginning this Thursday 18 September.

Construction on the long-awaited Dublin family courts complex at Hammond Lane is set to begin in "early 2027", Jim O'Callaghan has said. The justice, home affairs and migration minister yesterday provided an update on the project, which has advanced to the next stage in the procurement process.

Two pilot schemes aimed at making the family justice system more inclusive and transparent have reached a milestone. The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has revealed more information about the coming children's court advocate pilot and the family law reporting project.

Journalists are set to begin attending and reporting from family court hearings in Northern Ireland this October under a planned pilot scheme. Greater transparency in the family courts was one of the issues to be examined by a judicial working group established by the lady chief justice in September

Family lawyer Keith Walsh SC responds to a call in The Irish Times for greater recognition of Charles Haughey's legislative achievements, in particular the Succession Act 1965. While the debate on the legacy of Charles J. Haughey may occupy summer schools and academics from here until eternity, the

More resources are urgently needed in the family law system, a leading solicitor has said after new figures from Women's Aid revealed reports of domestic violence are at a record high. Women's Aid said its national and regional frontline services were contacted 32,144 times in 2024, an increase of 1

Judges, lawyers and court staff need to better understand domestic violence and abuse to prevent the "secondary victimisation" of victims and survivors, a new report into the Irish family law system has said. Women's Aid commissioned researchers at Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork

An Irish lawyer has welcomed an Italian court ruling that women in same-sex relationships who conceive children abroad through IVF should both be named as mothers on their children's birth certificates. Italy's Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that it was discriminatory not to include the names

A first-of-its-kind research study into the operation of the in camera rule in family law proceedings has been published by the Department of Justice. Researchers from University College Cork and Trinity College Dublin have made 21 recommendations for reform, while affirming that family law proceedi

Plans to implement major reforms to the family court system will be set out by the end of January 2026, the government has said. The Family Courts Act 2024 provides for the establishment of family court divisions within the existing court structures — a Family High Court, a Family Circuit Cour