News

Proposals to provide victims of domestic abuse with greater access to legal aid in family law cases have been approved by the Northern Ireland Assembly. MLAs debating the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill agreed to back an amendment brought by Rachel Woods, Green MLA for North Down, in the

Fewer than a dozen lawyers made submissions to a consultation on the proposed unification of the solicitor and barrister professions in Ireland. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) today published its 125-page report on the subject, which it was required to produce under section 34 of the

The UK government regards devolution as an "inconvenience", which can "simply be ignored" when deemed appropriate, Lord Hope of Craighead has said. His comments came before the government suffered a defeat over the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill when peers in the House of Lords voted

Gardaí should continue to crack down on sex buyers and organised criminal gangs in order to reduce abuse and exploitation in the Irish sex trade, a new report has recommended. The study by the Sexual Exploitation Research Programme (SERP) at UCD, commissioned by the Department of Justice, bac

The vast majority of legal aid lawyers in England and Wales are suffering from stress and most have trouble sleeping, MPs have been told. Evidence collected by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) from over 400 lawyers and submitted to the Commons justice select committee's inquiry into the futu

Dublin Book Festival is set to host a virtual discussion of the life and work of human rights lawyer Kevin Boyle later this month. Journalist Mike Chinoy, author of the recent biography Are You With Me?, will discuss Mr Boyle with Professor Donncha O'Connell of NUI Galway School of Law.

Human rights organisations have urged US president-elect Joe Biden to help protect the Good Friday Agreement as the UK reaches the end of the Brexit transition period. A briefing paper signed by 14 organisations north and south of the border was sent to Biden's transition team, in particular to thos

A police officer who allegedly scanned a box of expensive Krispy Kreme doughnuts at a self-service checkout as a single carrot is facing a misconduct hearing. Cambridgeshire police officer Simon Read could be sacked over allegations he paid just seven pence for a £9.95 box of doughnuts in Febr

In a judgment following from X v Y [2020] IEHC 502, Mr Justice Max Barrett has denied an application for costs in family law proceedings. Background

The government will not support the removal of Mr Justice Séamus Woulfe following a row over his attendance at a controversial golf dinner, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said. The Supreme Court judge and former Attorney General has come under pressure following the publication of letter

Retired judge Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan has been nominated for appointment as chair of the Standards In Public Office Commission (SIPO). Mr Justice Sheehan was appointed to the High Court in 2007 and elevated to the new Court of Appeal in 2014, before retiring in 2017.

Dublin solicitor Barry Magee has been appointed as a legal costs adjudicator. Mr Magee will join chief legal costs adjudicator Paul Behan and legal costs adjudicator Niall Hanlon, who were appointed to the newly-established office last October.

Proposed restrictions on post-Brexit VAT refunds for goods purchased in Ireland by visitors from Great Britain are set to be relaxed in a bid to support Irish retailers. Legislation currently being considered by the Oireachtas would have allowed visitors from Great Britain, after the UK becomes a "t

Staff at Belfast and Newry firm JMK Solicitors have been working remotely from across Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic. Izabella Andrzejewska, a member of the JMK graduate programme, has availed of the opportunity to work full-time from her home in Poland, around 1,500 miles away from Belfast.

Migration and human rights expert Dr Clíodhna Murphy has been promoted to associate professor at Maynooth University Department of Law. Dr Murphy joined the university in 2014, having previously lectured at Dublin City University and held a post-doctoral fellowship at University College Cork.