Conor Courtney

Northern Ireland’s Crown Court has imposed a prison sentence of 18 years for a husband convicted of murdering his wife by dousing her in petrol and setting her alight. Mr Justice John Ailbe O'Hara said the sentence imposed on Thomas Rainey was the "least he deserved" following a "harrowing" at

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that a decision of the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to refuse an application for retirement was unlawful. The court rejected the claim that this refusal was done in the public interest, due to the fact that the officer i

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that service of an Unexplained Wealth Order was effective, despite the failure to comply with the strict requirements that the order be served at the defendants’ address south of the border, in Ireland. The court relied on an affidavit provide

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review brought by a Chinese national living in Northern Ireland with her six-year-old son, finding that the best interests of the child had been considered. The court upheld a tribunal decision as rational, which rejected

Northern Ireland’s High Court has refused an application to appeal a Belfast County Court European Arrest Warrant order relating to extradition to the Czech Republic. The court found that the warrants in question were legal and valid, despite claims that the sentences involved were too short t

Northern Ireland’s High Court has found that several curfew provisions added to a probation order by a probation officer were unlawful. The court determined that such curfews could only be imposed by the court, and attempting to enforce them without a legislative basis or court order was unlaw

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against a coroner’s decision not to grant properly interested person status (PIP) to a witness during a death inquiry. The coroner found that the survivor witness did not have sufficient grounds for the elevated status, as the in

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rejected a reference brought by the Northern Ireland Director for Public Prosecutions (NI DPP) which alleged that a 9-year sentence, for counts including the rape of a child, was unduly lenient. The court found that although the sentence was at the lowest

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that a child return order under the Hague Convention should not have been stayed pending the outcome of his mother’s UK asylum appeal application. The court highlighted that the return order was directed towards Switzerland, the child&rsq

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected all grounds of a judicial review application regarding the height of a hedge in a Belfast neighbourhood. The court supported the tribunal decision which found that the hedge blocked light, and rejected claims that the decision was unlawful or gender-b

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that a mother of two children was not entitled to vote on whether or not her children should be placed on the Child Protection Registry. The court found that she was appropriately involved and represented in the procedure, and that the question of w

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal which claimed that a sentence of four years’ imprisonment for hijacking a car was manifestly excessive. The court found that the trial court was correct to impose this sentence, given the seriousness of the circumstances of the c

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected a decision of the Department of Justice (DoJ) to refuse compensation for miscarriage of justice where the applicant, Gerry Adams, was improperly interned in 1973. The applicant challenged the 2021 DoJ decision which found that Adams was not eligible f

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has entirely dismissed Tesco’s challenge to an Antrim Council planning decision relating to a new store for its competitor Asda. The court found that the decision reached was a valid and informed one and, although it went against Tesco’s favour, i

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal which stemmed from a child residence order application request brought by a father in a long series of litigation with the child’s mother. The court refused the appeal, finding that it had been brought for improper purposes and w