News

A drug trafficker has escaped a death sentence in a Shawshank Redemption-style escape through prison sewers. Chai Changpan, 53, has been on death row in Jakarta, Indonesia since being convicted in 2017 of smuggling 135kg of crystal meth.

A&L Goodbody has directly lobbied government ministers for the removal of juries from defamation cases, according to reports. The firm wrote to Justice Minister Helen McEntee following her appointment earlier this year to argue for urgent reform of the Defamation Act 2009, The Irish Times report

Strict architectural heritage protection laws could be reviewed in order to encourage renovation of derelict urban properties, according to reports. Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien is considering a review of Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000, according to The Irish Times.

Ministers have approved legislative plans aimed at enhancing Ireland's regulatory environment in international financial services. The Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020 aims to promote investment and secure Ireland's competitiveness as a market for financial services.

Arthur Cox has become the first Irish law firm to join the Sustainable Recruitment Alliance (SRA), a group of companies committed to a more eco-friendly approach to talent recruitment. Members of the SRA, which was launched last month by international law firm Clifford Chance and UK communications a

Legislation banning the purchase of sex in Ireland could be putting sex workers at greater harm of human rights violations and abuses, Amnesty International has said. The human rights organisation has published its submission to the Department of Justice’s ongoing review of Part 4 of the Crimi

EU member states can regulate Airbnb-style short-term lets to combat long-term rental housing shortages, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled. In a judgment which has only been published in French, the court ruled that French laws requiring landlords to seek authorisation from

An upcoming webinar is set to provide practical insights from the perspective of practitioners and mediators in the new post-Covid litigation landscape. The lunchtime webinar on Friday 2 October has been organised by the Law Society of Ireland's ADR committee in conjunction with the Southern Law Ass

Belfast solicitor Niall Murphy, partner at KRW LAW, will chair this year's Belfast International Homecoming Legal Symposium, which will take place online due to the Covid-19 crisis. The symposium on 1-2 October will focus on "professional pathways in law – from Belfast to beyond", with a panel

A litigation executive at DAC Beachcroft has been barred from the profession after naming a client on a Facebook post. A decision notice published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said that Keith Howell also spent excessive time dealing with clients' matters and recording billable t

A man who allegedly slept as his self-driving car broke speed limits on a busy road has been charged with dangerous driving. Police in Alberta, Canada tracked down the 2019 Tesla Model S – which is equipped with a "partially autonomous" system – after a complaint of a car speeding on the

The High Court has found that the balance of justice lies in favour of the prosecution of a man who, while a minor, allegedly assaulted gardaí and damaged court property while attempting to escape custody. Background

The Law Society of Ireland has urged government ministers to introduce a reduced VAT rate for legal services to end the "inappropriate application of what is effectively a consumer tax on such services". It is one of a range of recommendations in a letter sent to Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe ahe

Government ministers have approved plans to legislate for the recognition of UK divorces after expiry of the Brexit transition period. Justice Minister Helen McEntee said: "I am conscious that in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, EU law will no longer apply to legal proceedings involving

Proposals to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Northern Ireland, which currently stands at 10 years of age, are under consideration by ministers. Justice Minister Naomi Long has confirmed in response to a written Assembly question that she wrote to her Executive colleagues last