News

Professor Philippe Sands QC will join Conor Gearty to discuss his life and career at a free online event early next month. The discussion with the award-winning author, academic and barrister is being hosted by The British Academy as part of its Leaders in SHAPE series.

A remarkably brave smuggler has been sentenced after being caught with nearly 1,000 cacti and succulents strapped to her body. Wenqing Li, known as Wendy, stuffed the prickly plants in stockings and strapped them to her body to smuggle them from China to New Zealand.

The High Court has allowed an appeal against a decision by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal that dismissed claims of a solicitor witnessing forged documents. The court directed the Tribunal to hold an inquiry into whether the solicitor falsely witnessed the appellant’s signature and whethe

Mr Justice Séamus Woulfe will sit on the Supreme Court for the first time today and on the Court of Appeal next month. The former Attorney General was appointed to the Supreme Court last summer but has never heard a case because of the fallout around the 'golfgate' dinner he attended in spite

Northern Ireland's county courts will gain jurisdiction over more personal injury and defamation cases under plans put out to consultation today. Justice Minister Naomi Long has launched a 12-week public consultation on increasing the general civil jurisdiction of the county courts.

A 200-year-old law preventing wards of court from marrying has been repealed following a legal challenge. The Marriage of Lunatics Act 1811 was repealed on Monday through the commencement of section 7(1) of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015.

A new Victims Charter website has been launched to coincide with the beginning of a campaign to raise awareness of the rights provided in the Victims of Crime Act 2017. The website aims to bring together all the information a victim of crime might need to know about their rights and about what to ex

Denmark has become the first country in the world to announce an official "vaccine passport" scheme allowing those vaccinated against Covid-19 to travel abroad. From the end of February, those holding the so-called "corona passport" will be able to travel abroad, relieving pressure on companies whos

A high-performance sports player who was injured while working for a construction company has won a five-figure settlement in a case which lawyers say could not have been won a decade ago. Personal injury lawyer Cieran Marshall of JMK Solicitors represented the Gaelic football and Hurling player, wh

The law is to be changed to allow cabinet ministers six months' maternity leave with full pay in a move that will let Attorney General Suella Braverman keep her job after having a baby. The proposal has annoyed some backbenchers who are angry that the maternity rights will be conferred only on secre

Native Welsh speakers are continuing to face discrimination in HM Prison Berwyn, the UK's largest prison, campaigners have said. Concerns about the treatment of prisoners who speak Welsh as a first language have previously been raised by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), the House of Commons W

An online summit bringing together justice agencies, politicians and judges to discuss domestic abuse has placed emphasis on the need for early intervention and rehabilitation. The seminar, hosted by the Probation Board for Northern Ireland, heard from speakers including Justice Minister Naomi Long

A long-standing ban on workers eating at their desks is set to be relaxed in France to help tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. French labour law currently forbids "letting workers take their meal inside the work premises", The Local reports.

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a plaintiff can re-enter Commercial Court proceedings which were struck out on consent in 2011. The proceedings had been settled prior to trial under a written settlement agreement and included a clause that the case could be re-entered into the Commercial List if

Barristers Joanne Carroll and Cephas Power have been nominated for appointment as ordinary judges to the District Court. The first vacancy arose following retirement of Judge Constantine O’Leary in November, and the second following the retirement of Judge Anne Ryan at the start of January.