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A minister in the Northern Ireland Executive has taken the remarkable step of writing to the Lady Chief Justice to challenge sentencing remarks made by a district court judge. The Department for Infrastructure yesterday announced that minister John O'Dowd had written to Dame Siobhan Keegan in relati

Thousands of errors have been made in the administration of Northern Ireland's criminal courts in the past few years, a report has found. Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland today published the findings of a new inspection of criminal court administration.

A&O Shearman's Belfast office has raised £45,800 for local charity Friends of the Cancer Centre through a two-year community fundraising and volunteering partnership. The charity, which is based at the heart of the Northern Ireland Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital, has been supportin

Restoring fees to pre-2008 levels would add less than €16 million to the yearly criminal legal aid bill, justice minister Helen McEntee has said. Both the Law Society and the Bar Council are calling on the government to restore criminal legal aid fees to their pre-FEMPI levels in Budget 2025, a

Belfast-based Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors has welcomed newly-qualified solicitors Hannah Newburn and Sophie Jones. Ms Newburn graduated from Queen's University Belfast School of Law in 2018 and has worked as a paralegal in the firm since February 2021, before securing a place at the Institute

The head of Human Rights in China (HRIC) has been awarded a medal by the College Historical Society of Trinity College Dublin, the world's oldest student society.

Major reforms to mental health legislation have cleared second stage in the Dáil. The 202-section Mental Health Bill 2024 will replace the existing Mental Health Act 2001.

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Lebanon explosions ‘almost certainly criminal’, says human rights lawyer | Channel 4 News

A zoo in China has admitted painting dogs to look like pandas. The zoo in southern Guangdong province described the animals as "panda dogs" after a viral video showed the animals panting and barking in their enclosure.

A nearly €1.5 billion fine imposed on Google by the European Commission has been annulled by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The Commission imposed the fine, totalling €1.494 billion, on the search giant in 2019 after finding that it had abused its dominant position in t

The Irish Refugee Council's independent law centre provided legal representation to 550 clients on reception conditions issues last year, according to its latest impact report. The law centre launched 10 new High Court judicial review cases in 2023, with three cases selected as lead cases in respect

The government has published its autumn legislative programme, which prioritises 61 bills for publication and drafting over the next 13 weeks. Some 29 bills will be prioritised for publication and 32 bills for drafting over the Dáil session ahead.

The Bar Council and Law Society have welcomed proposals to improve equity of access and entry into the legal profession and increase diversity within the profession. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) yesterday published its Breaking Down Barriers reports, which include 32 recommendation

Legislation providing for a more than €2 billion remediation scheme for apartments and duplexes with construction defects is to be drafted on a priority basis. It is believed that between 50 per cent and 80 per cent of apartments and duplexes constructed between 1991 and 2013 may be affected by

DWF has welcomed 10 new legal professionals and six newly-qualified solicitors to its team in Belfast.