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The Irish government has been warned that its legislative plans risk politicising the development of sentencing guidelines. The general scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2026 proposes to give the minister for justice, home affairs and migration the power to direct the Judicial Council

Large-scale puppy and kitten breeding operations could relocate from Northern Ireland to south of the border following a proposed change in the law if an "all-island approach" is not adopted, a lawyer has warned. Hannah Unger, a senior associate at Fieldfisher Ireland and co-founder of Dog Law Irela

Coimisiún na Meán has published new guidance for researchers seeking to access data under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Article 40 of the DSA makes provision for researchers to access data from 'very large online platforms' (VLOPs) or 'very large online search engines' (VLOSEs) for t

The High Court has awarded compensatory damages to two men who were left street homeless, hungry and destitute after seeking international protection in Ireland. Handing down judgment on quantum yesterday, Mr Justice Cian Ferriter awarded €9,500 to one applicant, anonymised as SA, and €6,0

Plans to increase the maximum sentence for causing or allowing a child or vulnerable adult to die in Northern Ireland will not be implemented until after the next election. The Department of Justice today published a summary of responses from a public consultation which was carried out from June to

Bank of Ireland UK has been fined more than £3.7 million for failing to implement UK anti-fraud rules by the required deadline.

In many practices, legal work is still delivered through personal operating styles rather than a standard operating model. The mechanics of delivery depend on informal coordination and tacit knowledge rather than defined process and accountable ownership. When technology is introduced into that envi

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