Northern Ireland

The UK government has been urged to repeal the immunity provisions of its controversial new legacy law by the body responsible for enforcing decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. The Council of Europe committee of ministers this week called for changes to the Northern Ireland Troubles (Le

Staff at Northern Ireland firm Cleaver Fulton Rankin took part in celebrations last week to mark the firm's 130th year in business. The celebration at The National, Belfast last Friday night saw special prizes on offer to team members from The Bullitt, The Clayton Hotel, The Merchant Hotel, The Spir

Gateley Legal Northern Ireland has appointed three new trainee solicitors, bringing the total number of trainees at its Belfast office to seven. Kate Adair, Paul Kerr and Annabel Barton, who were previously paralegals with the firm, will now be studying at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies

Lawyers have been invited to "speak truth to power" at a conference called by the Law Society of Northern Ireland in response to the UK government's controversial new legacy law. Sir Declan Morgan, the former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland who has been appointed to lead the new Independent C

A first-of-its-kind judicial review being heard in Northern Ireland's High Court today aims to force the Department of Infrastructure to resume carrying out exhaust emissions tests on diesel cars for the first time in nearly two decades. Hundreds of thousands of diesel cars have never received a leg

Eversheds Sutherland partner Audrey Elliott writes on the role of immigration in growing Northern Ireland's economy. Talented people are central to the economic growth of nations, but with skill shortages biting hard immigration has become an essential part of recruitment for businesses across the U

Energy lawyer Alan Bissett has been reappointed to the board of Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners (LPHC) for a second term. Mr Bissett is a senior utilities lawyer and has advised on a wide range of corporate and commercial matters at Belfast and London firms. He is dual-qualified as a soli

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) is to receive a funding boost after an independent review found its budget is "inadequate and restricting its ability to deliver its statutory duties". The review was commissioned largely in response to the UN deferring a decision on NIHRC's re-ac

A disability discrimination case brought against a Belfast primary school with support from the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has been settled without admission of liability. The parents of Violet Heasley, who lives with osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), brought a case again

Northern Ireland's High Court has dismissed an action brought by a solicitor who alleged that complaints made about him to the Law Society of Northern Ireland (LSNI) were defamatory. Delivering the judgment, Danny Friedman KC, sitting as a High Court judge, noted the complaints were worthy of absolu

Northern Ireland solicitor Claire Edgar and barrister Gráinne Murphy were among guest presenters at this year's European Conference on Domestic Violence (ECDV) in Reykjavik, Iceland. This was the fifth conference of its kind, with the event having previously been hosted in Belfast, Porto, Osl

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has published a new podcast featuring Ian Fry, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change. The episode, exploring the topic of climate change and human rights, is the second in the ri

Belfast-based MKB Law has welcomed Rachel McBrinn, Michael Murphy and Caitlin Mulholland as the firm's trainee solicitors for 2023. Ms McBrinn has worked with the firm as a paralegal since October 2022, shortly after she graduated from Queen's University Belfast. She works in the employment law team

Former Northern Ireland justice minister and Alliance Party leader Naomi Long is no longer her party's justice spokesperson after handing the role back to Stewart Dickson in a frontbench reshuffle. Mrs Long served as justice minister from January 2020 until October 2022, including several months in

More than a dozen judicial review challenges to the UK government's controversial legacy bill have been lodged in the Northern Ireland courts. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, which aims to end criminal prosecutions and civil cases linked to the Troubles, is awaiting r