Northern Ireland

Belfast-headquartered Johnsons Solicitors has acquired long-established legal practice Mackenzie & Dorman.

Northern Ireland's Department of Justice has begun consulting on its draft equality and disability action plans for 2025 to 2030. The consultation was launched this week in line with the Department's statutory obligations under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Disability Discrimin

Northern Ireland barrister James Stitt examines the detail of a significant UK Supreme Court ruling on "lost years" compensation for seriously injured young children. The United Kingdom Supreme Court recently delivered judgement in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026]

A landmark EU court ruling on legal gender recognition "double underlines" the incompatibility of a controversial UK Supreme Court ruling with EU law, meaning it cannot be implemented in Northern Ireland, Irish Legal News has been told. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) last week rul

Northern Ireland's justice minister has set out plans to improve the experience of victims and witnesses navigating the justice system. Naomi Long said actions linked to Northern Ireland's new victims and witnesses strategy for 2026-2023 "will empower and support all victims and witnesses using a tr

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has upheld orders of the High Court quashing decisions providing for the early release on licence of Robert Clarke. Delivering judgment for the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Adrian Colton explained: “It would be an absurdity for a declaration of eligibi

A member of Irish-language rap group Kneecap will not face trial in England for an alleged terrorism offence following a court victory. The English High Court yesterday found that a judge was right to find that he had no jurisdiction to try a charge against Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who perf

Northern Ireland's draft framework for race relations and delivery plan have gone out for consultation. The 12-week public consultation commences today and runs until 3 June 2026.

Personal injury lawyers have urged Northern Ireland's Department of Justice to avoid a scenario where severely injured people are under-compensated in comparison to those in England and Wales. The Department recently carried out a consultation on how inflation should be taken into account when the p

The Belfast Solicitors' Association (BSA) has secured a hard-fought 4-3 victory over the Bar of Northern Ireland in the legal profession's twice-yearly football match-up.

A large-scale investigation is taking place into a former PSNI officer suspected of committing rape and other sexual offences over the course of a decade. The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has said it is "allocating all available resources" to the investigation and has warned that this may i

Northern Ireland lawyers must defend access to justice and the rule of law, the president of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) has said on a visit to Belfast. Steven Thiru was invited by the Law Society of Northern Ireland to discuss the threats to access to justice in Commonwealth cou

Northern Ireland's Department of Justice has launched a social media campaign to challenge common misconceptions about rape and sexual assault. The "Rape Myths = Real Harm" campaign aims to address issues identified in Sir John Gillen's 2019 review of sexual offence trials in Northern Ireland.

A new deputy chief commissioner and two new commissioners have been appointed to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. Colin Kennedy, chief executive of Maplewood Estates Limited and chairman of Jordan's Gift, has been appointed as deputy chief commissioner for a three-year term.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a review of private dentistry in all four parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland. Demand for private dentistry has risen sharply in recent years, with one in five people in Great Britain using private dental care in 2024.