Lord Sumption has admitted that he stopped obeying the coronavirus regulations when they began "reaching levels of absurdity". Speaking to legal journalist Joshua Rozenberg QC (hon.), the former Supreme Court justice said he did not accept that there was a "moral obligation to comply with the law".
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In the first of his 'neurolaw' articles, Benjamin Bestgen looks at how the law might accommodate advances in cognitive technology. See his last jurisprudential primer here. Humans are capable of fascinating feats of observation, empathy and intuition but we cannot read other people’s tho
A man who allegedly attempted to fake his own death to avoid a jail sentence was arrested after prosecutors noticed a typo in his supposed death certificate. The document submitted to authorities in New York State looked genuine except the word "registry" was spelled "regsitry", NBC News reports.
The High Court has granted an injunction against a quarry operating near the Leannan River Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Background
Barristers in Northern Ireland have reportedly been told that the size of juries in criminal cases could be reduced from 12 to nine or seven members to help clear the COVID-19 backlog. The Office of the Lord Chief Justice, the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service, The Bar of Northern Irelan
People attending the courts have been asked to wear face coverings by the most senior judges in Ireland. The direction was given by the president of the Court of Appeal today, and follows a similar direction to politicians using Leinster House and the Convention Centre yesterday in an attempt to sto
Legislation to protect renters will be considered by government ministers on Thursday following the final extension of the COVID-19 rent freeze and eviction moratorium. The Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 prohibits rent increases and evictions during the "emergency peri
The number of property transactions in Northern Ireland has started to bounce back following the reopening of the housing market last month. There were 1,320 property transactions in Northern Ireland in June 2020, up from 540 in May and 410 in April, according to new HMRC figures.
A Limerick solicitor has launched defamation proceedings against the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) over its comments about a personal injury case, according to reports. Gerard O'Neill, founder and principal of O'Neill & Co Solicitors, acted for a claimant in a case which
British lawyers are among professionals who have functioned as "enablers" for the extension of Russian influence in the UK, according to a long-awaited report from the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC). The committee drew up the report on Russia last year under the chairmanship
Prison authorities have warned prisoners' families that their loved ones could overdose on drugs smuggled into prison after months of COVID-19 restrictions. In its new family information booklet, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) warns that drug overdose "is now the main threat facing your loved ones i
Uber drivers have launched a legal case in the Netherlands to force the release of the computer algorithms used to manage their work in a test case that could lead to greater transparency for millions of gig economy workers. The case has been brought by UK-based App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU)
A police force has been criticised for using drones to catch topless or nude bathers at a secluded beach. Officers deployed high-tech surveillance devices to a lakeside beach in the US state of Minnesota following reports of immodest visitors.
The law on examinership should be amended to introduce an "examinership-lite" option for small businesses struggling in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, an Oireachtas committee has said. The proposal is one of 19 recommendations made by the Oireachtas special committee on COVID-19 response in
Human rights expert Professor Siobhán Mullally has been appointed as the UN special rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children. A leading academic on human rights law, Professor Mullally is currently the director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights (ICHR) at NUI Galw