Belfast firm Phoenix Law has secured more than £1.2 million in compensation for five survivors of child sexual abuse in the 1970s and 1980s following a settlement. The claims, relating to abuse perpetrated by prolific paedophile Malachy Finegan at St Colman’s College, Newry from 1972 to

Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Dame Siobhan Keegan, has been appointed as co-patron of Irish Rule of Law International (IRLI). Her appointment was announced earlier this week at an IRLI event in Belfast, where Dame Siobhan addressed an audience of barristers, solicitors, members of the judi

The Master of Northern Ireland’s High Court has assessed damages for defamation at £100,000 in favour of Peter Jackson, father of Paddy Jackson. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Master Mark Harvey highlighted: “The lesson for the defendant in this case, and frankly for those

UK government plans to retain the so-called "security veto" in new Troubles legislation risks betraying victims again, human rights campaigners have warned. Amnesty International has welcomed the government's introduction this week of the new Northern Ireland Troubles Bill and a remedial order

Professor Catherine O'Rourke has joined Dublin City University (DCU) to research the inadequacies of international law in capturing gendered experiences of harm. Feminist scholars have highlighted how the focus of international law on harm, particularly gender-based harm, fails to capture the broade

Legal academic Professor Deirdre Madden has been appointed as chairperson of the board of the newly-established Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority (AHRRA). Professor Madden, of the School of Law at University College Cork (UCC) is a specialist in healthcare law and ethics, holding a Ma

Dr Liam O'Driscoll highlights the need for EU-wide reform following a CJEU ruling on an Irish case concerning the compensation of victims of crime for pain and suffering. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), on 2 October 2025, issued a judgment concerning the scope of Member States&rsq

Dr Eoin O'Dell reminds Senator Michael McDowell, following his rebuke of social media platforms for online defamation, that he still has an opportunity to do something about it. Last week, in his column in The Irish Times, Michael McDowell took social media platforms to task for shirking their respo

The quest for knowledge has advanced beyond imagination in the millennia since Plato and Aristotle first proposed their theories of epistemology. For legal firms at the leading edge of meeting today’s exacting demands, ‘knowledge’ now involves a multitude of practical applications,

A solicitor who was forced out of her home by a relentless campaign of criminal harassment has urged legal professionals to break the “taboo” of speaking out about abuse. Emma Lyons, who runs a family and criminal law practice in west Belfast, joined the Law Society of Northern Ireland&r

It’s certainly been an eventful summer for partner Darragh Mackin at Belfast solicitors Phoenix Law. Many of the firm’s cases have been in the public eye, and probably none so much as the discrimination case successfully brought by Irish language rap group Kneecap against the UK governme

Paddy Kelly’s energetic leadership of the Children’s Law Centre (CLC) in Northern Ireland has seen it assume a pivotal role in advancing the rights and best interests of children and young people. When Ms Kelly, its founder and CEO, steps down at the end of this month, the most important