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Hungary and Poland have been dealt a blow in their legal challenge to EU rules cutting funding for member states that fail to protect the rule of law after an advocate-general sided with the European Parliament and Council. The two member states had brought actions before the Court of Justice of the

The Council of Europe has told Turkey it is going to refer the case of imprisoned philanthropist and activist Osman Kavala to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Mr Kavala has been in jail in Turkey since November 2017, having been arrested, acquitted and re-arrested a number of times.

Police have busted a Lego trafficker who allegedly tried to resell up to $10,000 worth of merchandise shoplifted from a rival store. Seattle Police Department dubbed their investigation "Operation: MandalOrganized Retail Theft" because many of the stolen sets were based on the Star Wars TV show The

Maples and Calder LLP (Ireland), the Maples Group's law firm in Ireland, has announced the appointment of Peter Stapleton as its new managing partner. Mr Stapleton, who also joins the firm's global management committee, succeeds Nicholas Butcher, who has retired from the firm after almost 18 years o

The principal legislation governing arbitrations in Northern Ireland as well as England and Wales is set to be reviewed by the Law Commission. The review of the Arbitration Act 1996, which will be launched in the first quarter of 2022 with a consultation paper to follower later that year, aims to en

Residential landlords in Northern Ireland could be required to give tenants up to six months' notice to leave their home under plans put out to consultation. The Department for Communities is consulting on the notice to quit period while the Private Tenancies Bill 2021 makes its way through the Asse

Service dogs used by police and prison officers in Northern Ireland will gain additional legal protections under legislation which has passed a major hurdle at Stormont. The Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Bill, dubbed "Finn's law" after a police dog killed in England, will increase the maximum pen

Legislation providing for a reduction in stamp duty levies on health insurance contracts has been published by the government. The Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2021 will reduce levies on advanced health insurance contracts to €406, a decrease of €43 compared to 2021, and on non-advanc

McCann FitzGerald LLP has been named Ireland's law firm of the year at The Lawyer European Awards 2021 in London. The firm, which also won the European litigation team of the year award and was highly commended in the European finance team of the year category, has won the top award for Ireland thre

EU law expert Gráinne de Búrca will deliver the FLAC Justice Lecture 2021 in memory of Dave Ellis over Zoom this evening. Professor de Búrca is the Florence Ellinwood Allen Professor of Law at NYU School of Law and director of the Hauser Global Law School Program.

ByrneWallace LLP has announced the appointment of seven new partners across a range of practice areas. The new partners are Triona Ryan, Gráinne Murphy, Eoin McGlinchey, Morag McCullagh, Fiona Wood, Daniel Holohan and Zelda Deasy.

Siobhan Phelan SC has been nominated by ministers for appointment as an ordinary judge of the High Court. Her appointment was approved alongside that of Judge Karen O'Connor and Conor Dignam SC, whose nominations for appointment to the High Court were confirmed earlier this week.

In a world first, New Zealand has legalised drug-checking after passing a law to allow a temporary pill testing service at festivals to continue and expand. In contrast, other countries' drug-checking services have operated in a legal grey zone.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined the Cabinet Office £500,000 for disclosing postal addresses of the 2020 New Year Honours recipients online. The ICO found that the Cabinet Office failed to put appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to prevent the

A church has apologised to a woman who was kicked out of the congregation for bringing what they thought was cannabis – but was actually coriander. Regular churchgoer Ashley Antiverso said she brought coriander for her Mexican soup, but was not allowed to enter the church because other members