News

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Israel subjecting Palestinian detainees to torture and abuse: UN report

Lawyers for the UK government have asked Northern Ireland's Court of Appeal for more time to decide how it will deliver a human rights compliant investigation of the 1998 murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane. Lord Justice Horner last month gave the government a three-week deadline to agree a way

Parents can now avail of nine weeks' paid parent's leave and benefit. Secondary legislation in force from yesterday uses powers under the Parent's Leave and Benefit Act 2019 to extend the number of weeks that parents can take time off work with financial support from the State from seven weeks to ni

The Mental Health Bill 2024, which will replace the existing Mental Health Acts 2001-2022, has been published. The lengthy bill now has 202 sections — up from the 197 sections announced last week due to "formatting/drafting changes made during the quality assurance process".

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on new draft guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance, including predatory pricing, margin squeeze, exclusive dealing and refusal to supply. Such behaviour is banned under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Un

Post Office operators in Northern Ireland have been urged by the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal to share their experiences in a survey by this time next week. Up to 16,000 people from across the UK — including all current sub-postmasters and Horizon Shortfall scheme applicants — hav

Former McCann FitzGerald chief John Cronin has been appointed as chair of the Abbey Theatre. Mr Cronin, a former chairperson of the law firm and its managing partner from 2007 to 2015, will serve a four-year term as chair of the national theatre's board.

A man has been jailed for shoplifting nearly 800 Cadbury's Crème Eggs. Layton Richards, 29, was charged with 24 offences after stealing the chocolate from 19 different shops in the south of England between January and April.

Human rights campaigners have welcomed the release of 16 people, including Irish citizen Paul Whelan, in the largest prisoner swap between Russia and the West since the Cold War. Those pardoned, released and exiled from Russia and Belarus include Russian activists and human rights defenders Oleg Orl

High Court inspectors have found no breaches of company law in their investigation into the business and governance of Independent News & Media (INM). The Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) has published the report of Seán Gillane SC and Richard Fleck CBE, who were appointed as inspect

Three Irish barristers will travel to the US this month to help exonerate wrongfully convicted people in Wisconsin and Florida after being awarded scholarships. Simon Wilson BL, Róisín O’Mara BL, and Gemma McLoughlin Burke BL have been named by The Bar of Ireland as the recipient

Gardaí will begin to use body-worn cameras in Limerick in a further expansion of a pilot scheme. The technology has been used in Dublin since early June and will be trialled in Waterford later this year, ahead of a national rollout.

An English lawyer has sworn a courtroom oath on a river instead of a holy book in what is believed to be a legal first. Paul Powlesland, a barrister who founded and chairs the River Roding Trust, made the oath in order to serve as a juror in a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

An Indian couple who worked for several months without receiving pay have been awarded over €45,000 by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). Crushell & Co Solicitors acted for Anoushka Anilkumar Parmar and Tushar Joshi, who took separate claims against Dublin-based technology company Cl

There are “systemic weaknesses” in the way English juries make decisions and these are likely to be contributing to the conviction of innocent people, failures to convict the guilty, and inequalities, new research warns. The current legal rules involving procedure and evidence are not co