Northern Ireland

The conduct of ex parte hearings where the PSNI obtained warrants in respect of the investigation into the theft of documents from the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland relating to the 1994 Loughinisland massacre fell “woefully short” of a fair hearing, the Court of Appeal has held.

Commercial law firm Tughans has announced the appointment of three new partners and a private client director. New partner Chris Milligan has joined the commercial real estate team as a partner, while Andrew Kirke has been promoted to partner seven years after joining the firm. Mr Milligan, an energ

Plans to create new organised crime offences for Northern Ireland have gone out to consultation. Under the proposals, serious organised crime would be defined as "crime involving two or more people acting together with one of their main purposes or activities being the commission or facilitation of

The family of a 12-year-old schoolgirl killed by the British Army in 1976 has called for an independent investigation into the death. Majella O'Hare was shot twice on 14 August 1976 in Whitecross, Co Armagh after walking past an army patrol on the way to church with a group of friends.

The full implementation of Sir John Gillen's recommendations for improving serious sexual offence trials in Northern Ireland will be complete by the end of 2022 under a plan published today. According to the implementation plan, 11 per cent of the 253 recommendations made in Sir John's final report,

New hate crime legislation will not be brought to the Northern Ireland Assembly for at least two more years, Justice Minister Naomi Long has indicated. The justice minister confirmed this week that the independent review of hate crime legislation, led by Judge Desmond Marrinan, has been delayed

A terminally ill woman who was denied fast-track access to certain benefits has succeeded in a High Court challenge to the definition of "terminal illness" in Northern Ireland. In a decision handed down yesterday, Mr Justice Gerry McAlinden said the requirement for terminally ill claimants to demons

Lawyers representing the family of an 18-year-old woman who was murdered in 1988 have called for an independent investigation following today's decision not to prosecute two suspects in the case. German national Inga-Maria Hauser was touring the UK as part of an interrailing holiday when she disappe

Retired solicitor Paul Kennedy has been nominated for appointment as the Northern Ireland Assembly's new commissioner for standards. Mr Kennedy qualified as a solicitor in 1983 and spent 32 years in private practice, including 28 years as principal in his own firm.

Former police officer Judith Gillespie has been appointed for a one-year term as the new independent chair on an inter-departmental working group on Mother and Baby Homes, Magdalene laundries and historical clerical child abuse. Ms Gillespie is the third person named as chair of the troubled group,

Human trafficking laws in Northern Ireland will be updated to create a new statutory duty to assist potential victims under proposals now being put to consultation. The proposals would also relax the requirement for the Department of Justice to publish a human trafficking strategy every year, allowi

UK law firm TLT has announced the appointment of Jason Byrne, the former head of Shoosmiths in Northern Ireland, as a partner in Belfast. Mr Byrne brings almost two decades of experience in insolvency and litigation to TLT, as well as financial services compliance and regulation.

Physical prison visits will resume in Northern Ireland later this month, Justice Minister Naomi Long has confirmed. Under new guidance, physical visits will be allowed to take place from 27 July, but virtual visits will remain "the preferred option".

Free public transport will be available from today for people fleeing domestic abuse, ministers have announced. The measure was first floated in May by Justice Minister Naomi Long and Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon after a similar free rail travel scheme was unveiled in England and Wales.

Lisa Bryson, partner and head of employment at Eversheds Sutherland in Belfast, considers the impact of COVID-19 on businesses in Northern Ireland. In some ways, it seems that the introduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or the ‘Furlough’ scheme as its more commonly referred