News

The European Commission has opened two formal competition investigations into Apple in relation to its App Store and Apple Pay. The App Store investigation will examine restrictions imposed by Apple in its agreements with companies that wish to distribute apps to users of Apple devices.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has welcomed "ambitious and positive" commitments in the draft Programme for Government agreed by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. The civil liberties group said there were strong commitments in relation to 10 of the 18 calls for human r

The introduction of police powers used to fine dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters just hours before the protests began was "purely coincidental", ministers have said. Amnesty International and the Belfast-based Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) raised concerns earlier this month

A proposed automatic bar on alleged domestic abusers cross-examining complainants should be extended from the criminal courts to include the family courts, the Bar Council of Northern Ireland has said. In a written submission to the call for written evidence on the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedi

A new report prepared by Sara Moorhead SC is expected to recommend an €8,000 increase in the basic salary of city and county councillors. Ms Moorhead, a prominent barrister who has practised in Dublin for more than three decades, was appointed in June 2018 to undertake an independent review of

Men will not be able to advance the legal defence that their partner was accidentally killed in a "sex game gone wrong" under new domestic abuse legislation being considered by MPs. Campaign group We Can't Consent To This has identified at least 60 women from the UK who have been killed in recent ye

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan of Richard Grogan & Associates examines a recent case concerning disability discrimination at work. The issue of what constitutes a disability for the purposes of the Employment Equality Act 1998 as amended was addressed in some detail in case ADJ-000

Benjamin Bestgen gives readers an introduction to feminist legal philosophy in his latest primer. See his last one here. It might not surprise readers that the majority of philosophical and legal works (including laws) over the course of human history to date were created by men. The reasons for thi

A man has been fined €500 (around £450) for deliberately farting in front of police officers. The police force in Vienna, Austria, took to social media to defend their decision after the news was broken by a local paper.

The High Court has allowed the appeal of Robert Cunningham, a prison officer employed by the Irish Prison Service (IPS). In the course of his duties he suffered two assaults by prisoners, which resulted in him suffering a serious back injury, which has required three operations.

Lawyers have cautiously welcomed a commitment to family law reform in the draft Programme for Government agreed by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. The deal struck between the three parties after protracted talks includes the creation of a new dedicated family court within the exis

The Law Society of Ireland has added its voice to those calling for the retention of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) in the next government. Proposals to scrap the DCYA have previously been met with opposition from 60 children and youth organisations.

Irish barrister Sunniva McDonagh SC has been elected as the next vice-chairperson of the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). Ms McDonagh has served on the agency's management board since October 2016 and will take up her role as vice-chairperson on 13 July 2020.

Northern Ireland's Attorney General John Larkin QC will step down at the end of the month after 10 years in the post. Mr Larkin was first appointed for a four-year term in 2010 before being reappointed for a further two years in 2014. His second term was extended in late 2015 until May 2019, then ag

Our regular round-up of deals involving Irish law firms. Submit your deals to newsdesk@irishlegal.com. Ireland's two largest law firms, Arthur Cox and A&L Goodbody, have advised on the largest green revolving credit facility in the Irish real estate market.