Opinion

In the second of his jurisprudential primers, Benjamin Bestgen invokes Greek wisdom in thinking about the merits of democracy. See part one here. Likening statecraft to captaining a ship goes back to the Greek poet Alcaeus of Mytilene but was made famous in Plato’s Republic.

In the first in a series of jurisprudential primers, Benjamin Bestgen reflects on philosophical thinking. When I studied philosophy, one of the typical remarks from well-meaning people with little knowledge of the subject were pointers to Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker and that it must be inter

Lawyer Bill Holohan is reflecting this week on the 20th anniversary of his "radical" appointment as notary for the cities and counties of Cork and Dublin. At the time of Mr Holohan's appointment by then Chief Justice Ronan Keane in 2000, notaries had only been appointed for adjacent counties.

Eoghan Ó hArgáin, associate and head of the EU, competition and regulated markets team at Eugene F. Collins, explores what measures may be taken under Irish law in response to reports of “price gouging”. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 there have been reports of hand san

Joanne Ryan, associate at William Fry, looks at whether remote swearing is permitted in Ireland in light of the coronavirus pandemic and what can be done to address the issue of swearing affidavits while adhering to social distancing.  Due to the Government's necessary social distancing restric

William Fry partner Laura Scott, senior associate Colette Brady and trainee solicitor Sophie Delaney consider whether growing concerns about the availability of certain drugs and equipment in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic will we see governments start to issue compulsory licences. Concerns arou

Researcher Ethan Shattock argues that disinformation is a human rights issue and a human rights approach is needed in potential regulatory responses. In recent weeks, the outbreak of COVID-19 has demonstrated how false rumours, unverified information, and harmful lies can be spread with rapid speed

Patrick Dunne urges reason in discussions about the lockdowns aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus. In the midst of a lockdown in this country, and lockdowns in many other western democracies, reference has been made to the imposition of martial law. This, it is claimed, would result in member

The Court of Appeal has allowed the appeal of a Pakistani national who was prevented from joining the Defence Forces in Ireland. Background

Professor Oran Doyle and Dr Tom Hickey interrogate whether the Oireachtas can legislate without the appointment of a new Taoiseach. In an email sent to a member of Dáil Éireann over the past few days, the recently re-elected Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, made

Mary Hough, partner and head of healthcare at Hayes solicitors, explores the Supreme Court ruling reaffirming that the ‘Dunne’ principles remain the appropriate legal test for establishing liability in medical negligence litigation in Ireland. In its recent decision in the case of Ruth M

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan of Richard Grogan & Associates argues that Irish employers should not take advantage of the new temporary wage subsidy scheme introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Bill 2020 was in

William Fry associate Sarah Plunkett explores the opportunities of using technology to maintain business continuity in the Irish courts during the coronavirus pandemic. The effects of the current outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) have already caused an extensive impact on global economic and social

As we enter the darkest days we have faced since World War Two, the thoughts of the team at Irish Legal News are with our readers and their families – but also with the many law firms which have only recently recovered from the crash of 2008 and its consequences. They now face an even greater

The latest series of the gritty and stylish TV drama Babylon Berlin, set in Weimar Germany, introduces Hans Litten as a civil rights lawyer battling to save the life of a woman sentenced to death after being tricked by the Nazis into assassinating Germany's Jewish chief prosecutor. Connor Beaton sha