Northern Ireland

The Bar of Northern Ireland has said a "radical increase" in the jurisdiction of Northern Ireland's County Court from £30,000 to either £60,000 or £100,000 is "not justified". In its response to a Department of Justice consultation, the Bar said both options represent "a misguided

The number of prisoners on remand in Northern Ireland rose to a record high last year as the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed the courts system. The remand population increased by nearly 11 per cent to 545 for the 2020/21 financial year, the highest level since reporting by financial year began in 2014/1

Belfast law firm Tughans has grown with the appointment of two new directors, four newly-qualified solicitors and three new trainee solicitors. Kevin Hegarty has been appointed as a director in the commercial law firm's healthcare department, while Ben Sims has been appointed as a director in the co

Judge John Curran QC, who retired from Northern Ireland's County Court bench in 2005, passed away yesterday. A barrister, he took silk in 1974 and was appointed as a County Court judge in February 1981, serving for 24 years until his retirement.

Dr Esther McGuinness has been appointed as the new head of Ulster University's School of Law. She succeeds Professor Eugene McNamee, who has served as head of school for eight years.

The High Court has dismissed all seven headings of a land conveyance counterclaim, deeming it to be “clearly an abuse of process”. The plaintiffs, solicitor Andrea McIlroy-Rose and her late father John McIlroy, issued proceedings in 2016 seeking injunctive relief and damages for an alleg

A minister in the Northern Ireland Executive has said her department will have "no part" in enforcing new Home Office rules targeting rough sleepers for deportation. Communities minister Deirdre Hargey said guidance issued by the Home Office in April, to the effect that homeless non-nationals can be

Belfast-based Millar McCall Wylie has launched a new identity and dedicated online presence for its personal injury legal services team following a period of growth. The firm, which employs over 40 legal professionals between its Belfast city centre and Ballyhackamore offices, has created MMW Claims

A number of young people, assisted by the Children's Law Centre (CLC), have formally complained to the Department for the Economy over the exclusion of under-18s from the high street voucher scheme. The voucher scheme will see around 1.4 million people in Northern Ireland receive a pre-paid £1

Lisa Bryson, partner and head of employment at Eversheds Sutherland in Belfast, considers where employers in Northern Ireland stand in relation to the "return to the office". As we approach the autumn, minds will inevitably turn to the final quarter of 2021 and many will begin thinking about next ye

Banking and finance lawyer Nichola Coghlan has joined UK law firm TLT as an associate in its Belfast office. Ms Coghlan, who joins from Tughans, brings experience in secured and unsecured lending, corporate finance, refinance, restructuring, securitisations, invoice and trade finance and banking.

Legislation to improve protections for Northern Ireland tenants living in the private rented sector have cleared the second stage in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Private Tenancies Bill, introduced just before the summer recess, restricts rent increases to once a year and extends the notice to

A long-awaited review into the care of vulnerable people in Northern Ireland's prisons has been completed and a report is due to be published next week. The review was first announced in 2016 after a series of deaths in custody and was subsequently passed in December 2018 to the Regulation and Quali

Northern Ireland's justice minister Naomi Long has reassured Derry solicitors that the city's Bishop Street courthouse will reopen "once Covid has passed". Department of Justice officials have met with the Law Society of Northern Ireland and are set to meet with the Foyle Local Solicitors Associatio

Northern Ireland will be the first part of the UK to introduce a specific criminal offence of "downblousing" as part of a bill aimed at improving protections for victims of sexual offences and trafficking. Two new voyeurism offences covering upskirting and downblousing respectively form part of the