Conor Courtney

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that there was procedural unfairness in refusing to allow witnesses to remain seated during a tribunal hearing while providing seats for pupil barristers. The court found that although pandemic restrictions were the cause of the occupancy limit

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal alleging that the Department of Health breached data privacy and GDPR requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic. The court upheld the decision of the trial court in the Williams case [2022] NIQB 12, delivered by Mr Justice Adrian Colto

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application to judicially review a compassionate bail application. The court found that the prisoner’s request to attend his sister's funeral was not a "criminal cause or matter" which could be appealed to the UK Supreme Court. The applicant

Northern Ireland’s High Court has fined a Tyrone farmer £5,500 for contempt after he breached previous court undertakings on eight separate occasions. Despite the clear evidence of breaches, the court did not find that imprisonment for contempt was appropriate. This case involved two app

Northern Ireland’s High Court has sentenced John Brian Stelfox, a former practising solicitor, to six months' imprisonment for contempt following his failure to abide by a court maintenance order. Mr and Mrs Stelfox were married for more than 20 years and have four children. When they divorced

Northern Ireland's Court of Appeal has dismissed all grounds of appeal brought by a 62-year-old veteran involved in making and distributing indecent images of children. The man had been sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment in relation to 37 criminal counts following an investigation involving over 1

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that a decision to quash a 2008 conviction for indecent assault in light of a legislative error and subsequently re-prosecute the case was unlawful. Mr Justice O'Hara ruled that the original conviction should not have been quashed in 2020 after it e

Northern Ireland’s High Court has quashed a decision by Belfast City Council to subject a consignment of Halloween costumes to a detention. The court found that the products could not be classified as children’s toys and the respondent therefore acted ultra vires.

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has increased a child murderer's sentence from 13 to 16 years, despite fears of double jeopardy and failures by the prosecution, as the interests of justice demanded it. This was a reference brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review brought by the owner of a trout hatchery who claimed that the Department of Agriculture failed in its statutory duty to conserve waterways. The court found that the respondent took extensive steps to comply with its

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rescinded two orders rejecting the right to trial by jury in defamation cases between Sir Van Morrison and former health minister Robin Swann. The court found that the trial judge erred in considering the facts and issues in the two cases together to deny

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that a prisoner’s request to attend external counselling services during the last 12 months of his sentence was not irrationally or discriminatorily denied, even if the scheme in place wasn’t “the best way to provide for resettleme

Northern Ireland’s High Court has denied two interlocutory applications sought by environmental campaigners challenging the development of a gas storage facility at Islandmagee. The first application was for a strike-out of various parts of the respondent’s evidence, and the second was f

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) may have breached its duty towards an asylum seeker in failing to provide her with a timely and accessible weekly allowance payment for a period of almost two months. The applicant was an as

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected an application challenging a 2021 decision of the justice minister to refuse to make a payment to an applicant out of an ex gratia compensation scheme. The court found that the refusal was rational and reasonable.