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Our weekly round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Israel’s move to register land ‘systematises dispossession’ of Palestinians

Legislation giving Coimisiún na Meán responsibility for assessing media mergers has been published. The Media Regulation Bill will implement the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which is intended to protect media pluralism and independence and to ensure that media can operate more ea

William Wilson has been elected as chair of the Northern Ireland Young Solicitors' Association (NIYSA) following its 2026 AGM. Mr Wilson, who leads the property department at Lacey & Co Solicitors, will be supported over the coming year by Katherine Macauley of Joseph Magee & Co as vice-chai

Russia's Supreme Court has upheld a fine imposed on search giant Google which is roughly a million times more than the combined GDP of the entire world. Judge Sergei Samuylov said there were no grounds to review the imposition of the 91.5 quintillion rouble fine (around €1.2 quintillion or &pou

Ireland remains a steadfast supporter of international law and human rights in the "changed global context", foreign affairs and trade minister Helen McEntee has said. In a speech to the Human Rights Forum at Iveagh House yesterday, Mrs McEntee said human rights "remain at the heart of our foreign p

Aaron McKenna is a practising solicitor specialising in civil litigation and family law. He began his legal career as a trainee solicitor with O’Mara Geragthy McCourt Solicitors in 2001, where he worked primarily in civil litigation and employment law under James McCourt, now a Circuit Court J

The Irish government has launched its national digital and AI strategy, with plans to digitalise all key public services by 2030. The 95-page document published today sets out 20 high-level objectives and 90 deliverables which the government says will ensure Ireland "remains a digital leader in an i

Arthur Cox LLP has been named along new corporate sponsors of an initiative aimed at accelerating gender balance at senior leadership level across Irish business. The law firm joins Aviva, Cpl and EY in a multi-year sponsorship deal with the 30% Club Ireland, a gender equality campaign led by chairs

Nexus NI is to continue managing Northern Ireland's domestic and sexual abuse helpline after being awarded a three-year contract. The contract — which can optionally be extended twice for periods of two years each — was awarded jointly by the Department of Justice, Department of Health a

Matheson has launched the 2026 Tim Scanlon Corporate Law Bursary, which honours late Matheson partner and former chairperson Tim Scanlon. Established in 2022, the bursary is delivered as part of Matheson’s impactful business programme and is open to undergraduate and postgraduate law students.

UN human rights experts have expressed concern over An Garda Síochána's acquisition and use of less lethal weapons for crowd control and protest management. Gina Romero, the special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and Alice Jill Edwards, the

Ride-hailing apps like Uber and Bolt should be allowed to enter the Irish taxi market, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has said. While the apps are available in Ireland, they only function here as booking services for regulated taxis, instead of using the gig economy model

A top City of London banker has admitted to systematically dodging rail fares for nearly a year — saving himself a measly £6,000 in the process. Joseph Molloy, a former HSBC executive, avoided a prison sentence after admitting to 740 instances of "doughnutting".

Philip Lee LLP has welcomed two new partners, with Bláthnaid Evans joining the firm's employment practice and Edon Byrnes joining the corporate and M&A team. Both lawyers were previously partners at Ogier, where Ms Evans was also head of employment and immigration.

Ireland's leading legal rights charity has hit out at the "entrenched cliché that legal aid is just ‘more money for lawyers’" as it warned the civil legal aid system is at risk of collapse. FLAC's chief executive, Eilis Barry, appeared before the joint Oireachtas committee on just