News

Human rights lawyers are among tens of thousands of people whose phones were allegedly targeted with spyware made by an Israeli company and sold to law enforcement agencies worldwide, according to a major investigation. Dozens of journalists co-ordinated by Forbidden Stories with technical support f

A police officer who called for backup because she was being pursued by a "drone" was left red-faced after colleagues pointed out it was the planet Jupiter. The officer, a rookie in her first two years of service, phoned to report a drone following her up the M8 on the way home shortly after midnigh

The Court of Appeal has overturned the convictions of two men who were found guilty of murder under the doctrine of joint enterprise. The two appellants had been present at the time and had assisted a third man in the aftermath of the killing. However, the court held that, on the specific facts of t

The Central Bank of Ireland has published its first Employers’ Liability, Public Liability and Commercial Property Insurance Report providing key statistics on commercial insurance in Ireland. Among its key findings, the report shows that for all claims, settlements through the

A barrister has complained that the presiding judge in the trial of four men accused of abducting businessman Kevin Lunney is "rubbishing" an important part of the defence case and was "dismissive and contemptuous" in his tone. Michael O'Higgins SC was cross-examining fingerprint expert Detective Ga

Extradition cases for suspects in Ireland wanted for prosecution abroad have more than tripled since Ireland joined an EU-wide police information sharing system. Ireland joined the Schengen Information System (SIS II) four months ago and it has led to the arrest of dozens of suspects who are wanted

An investigative journalist has taken the PSNI to a tribunal over its refusal to release a secret review of Special Branch strategy compiled at the height of the Troubles. The dossier was drawn up in 1973 when officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary’s Special Branch are known to have been

Pat Daly breaks down the HSE's complaints procedure in the context of increasing confusion and reluctance among families during the Covid-19 pandemic. Of late, my colleagues and I are receiving complaints from acutely distressed families about what they perceive as ‘lack of care’ of thei

New employment figures show a "positive momentum" for employment levels in Northern Ireland, an employment law expert has said. The June Labour Market Report for Northern Ireland was issued yesterday by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

The European Commission has launched infringement procedures against Hungary and Poland for alleged violations of the fundamental rights of LGBT+ people. The case concerns a controversial new Hungarian law which has been compared to the UK's Section 28 and Polish authorities' failure to respond to t

Poland’s way of disciplining judges falls foul of EU law, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has said. The court said in a statement that “the disciplinary regime for judges in Poland is not compatible with EU law”.

A new ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) would allow employers to ban the wearing of visible symbols of religious or political belief, such as headscarves. The court stipulated that such a ban would need to be justified by the employer's genuine need to present a n

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has imposed fines totalling over £260 million for competition law breaches in relation to the supply of hydrocortisone tablets. The fines are the result of a CMA investigation into the conduct of several pharmaceutical firms which found that Aud

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. As global pressure over human rights abuses in Xinjiang picks up, China remains defiant  - ICIJ

The bond between the Sicilian mafia and American crime families is as strong as ever, it has emerged. Decades after their links were immortalised in The Godfather trilogy, police have swooped in on members of a major crime family.