Northern Ireland

Some restrictions on the sale of alcohol in pubs and nightclubs are set to be relaxed under new proposed liquor licensing legislation. Communities Minister Carál Ní Chuilín yesterday announced plans for a bill introducing changes to late opening hours for pubs, Easter trading ar

Same-sex couples in Northern Ireland will be allowed to have religious wedding ceremonies under new regulations laid in Westminster yesterday. The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020 will remove the prohibition on religious marriage of same-sex couples from 1 September

Children as young as 11 were among the 422 taken to court and convicted last year, the Belfast Telegraph reports. Justice Minister Naomi Long disclosed the crimes committed by children in recent years, including violence against the person, drug offences, robbery and fraud.

Online land registration fees in Northern Ireland will be reduced from April next year, Finance Minister Conor Murphy has said. The Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) last month criticised the "considerable surpluses" generated from LandWeb users.

Solicitor John Finucane has an "expected commitment of 10-20 hours per week" at his firm Finucane Toner following his election as MP for North Belfast, Sinn Féin has said. The party issued a clarification after opposition figures questioned the register of financial interests lodged with West

The UK government has come under pressure from a Westminster committee to set out how it will facilitate "unfettered" trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain under the Brexit deal. In a new report, the Northern Ireland affairs committee said the UK's proposals for implementation of the Nort

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.