Case Reports

Northern Ireland's High Court has declared several penalties under the Covid-19 regulations unlawful in circumstances where some had not been filled out and where others were filled out incorrectly by PSNI officers who variously entered private dwellings or dispersed protesters. This case involved t

The Court of Appeal has determined that a prosecution may proceed against an accused despite culpable prosecutorial delay in investigating the offences. The applicant, who was 17 years old at the time of the alleged crimes, claimed that he had lost important protections under the Children Act 2001.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a defendant in medical negligence proceedings which sought to compel the plaintiff to deliver expert reports. The defendant argued that the plaintiff had not properly particularised her claims of negligence and that the expert reports were necessary for

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rejected all grounds of appeal advanced by a convicted murderer where it was argued that counsel failed to provide an interpreter and intentionally withheld a plea deal from the court. Orhan Koca also sought to appeal against the harshness of his murder s

The High Court has ruled that the Commissioner for An Garda Síochána acted unlawfully when he decided to dismiss a member after a statutory Appeal Board had determined that dismissal was disproportionate. The Commissioner sought to dismiss the member for discreditable conduct arising f

The High Court has determined that a hotel was not entitled to insurance cover for pandemic losses under an RSA policy of insurance. The policy required a notifiable disease to be “manifesting itself at the premises” for the policy to cover any losses. In a 94-page judgment, Mr Justice D

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rejected all grounds of a challenge relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol. They found that the post-Brexit arrangements were not affected by 1800s legislation, and the loss of EU representation for Northern Ireland did not amount to a breach of fundam

The Court of Appeal has held that the suspension of a consultant by the HSE should be lifted despite the fact that there was an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct. The consultant had previously performed experiments on five women during hysteroscopy procedures without their knowledge or c

The High Court has refused an application by a plaintiff for her legal costs to be paid on account by the defendant in a settled swine flu vaccine case. The plaintiff sought an order pursuant to High Court Practice Direction 71 for the payment on account pending the determination of taxation. Howeve

Northern Ireland's High Court has found that the Attorney General had applied the wrong test in assessing whether a fresh inquest should be granted into the British Army killing of Thomas Aquinas Burns. Leave to judicially review his decision was granted where it was found that the Attorney General

The Court of Appeal has upheld a costs order for an injunction despite claims by the defendant that the proceedings were prematurely issued by the plaintiff. The High Court had ordered costs in the cause of the action but the defendant sought for costs to be awarded in its favour. Delivering judgmen

Northern Ireland's High Court has awarded costs against the Home Office where their unexplained delay in issuing a visa forced the applicant to bring proceedings. The court found that the applicant was justified in issuing the proceedings, despite the fact that her visa arrived five days after threa

The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal brought by a father seeking the return of his three children to England after they had moved to the Ireland during the pandemic. The court determined that the children had obtained habitual residence in the state following their move in June 2020. Deliverin

The High Court has struck out a plaintiff's medical negligence proceedings for inordinate and inexcusable delay arising from a failure to progress the proceedings from their inception. The court held that the proceedings had not progressed from a “protective writ” issued in 2016. Althoug

Northern Ireland's High Court has found that it still had jurisdiction to hear an application for a care order in respect of an eight-month-old child who was sent to live with his maternal grandfather south of the border. The child was sent away by his mother after she became aware that a social car