News

The Supreme Court will sit in Kilkenny early next year and Castlebar the year after that, the Chief Justice of Ireland, Mr Justice Frank Clarke, has said. The plans for the court's fourth- and fifth-ever sittings outside of Dublin have been warmly welcomed by the Mayo Solicitors' Bar Association.

The controversial Judicial Appointments Bill has been amended in the Seanad to allow former barristers and solicitors to be considered "lay persons" three years after leaving practice. The bill previously provided that someone could not be considered a "lay person" until 15 years after ceasing to pr

Adult safeguarding efforts are being hampered by "rigid and overly cautious interpretations" of GDPR rules, Senator Colette Kelleher has said. Ms Kelleher made the remarks at the launch of a new research report examining Ireland's current adult safeguarding practices and the need for change.

The current model of legal aid is limited and under-resourced, Community Law & Mediation (CLM) has told an Oireachtas committee. The Oireachtas justice committee has continued to hear evidence on access to justice and legal costs in Ireland.

Most practitioners are satisfied with the two-tier Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court four years on from key reforms, according to new research. Dr Brian Barry, lecturer in law at TU Dublin, surveyed lawyers, trade union representatives and employer organisation representatives on their

Legislation to provide a legal basis for the phased excavation of the mass child burial site at Tuam will be published early next year, Children's Minister Dr Katherine Zappone has said. The general scheme of the Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill 2019 was approved by Cabi

A fifth of those recruited to the public service should be competent in the Irish language under a new plan underpinned by legislation. The Cabinet has approved the publication of the Official Languages (Amendment) Bill 2019, which builds on the landmark Official Languages Act 2003.

The deliberate starvation of civilians during an armed civil conflict has been established as a war crime under an amendment to the Rome Statute underpinning the International Criminal Court (ICC). An amendment to article 8, paragraph 2 (e) of the Rome Statute was proposed by Switzerland and agreed

DWF Group plc is to acquire Spanish law firm Rousaud Costas Duran (RCD), it revealed, as it announced its first set of half-year results as a PLC. DWF has seen a 10 per cent increase in group revenue from £133.4m to £146.8m and a two per cent increase in gross profit to £73.7m

A neo-Nazi city councillor has launched a legal bid to force a left-wing mayor to shake his hand. Katja Wolf, mayor of the eastern German town of Eisenach, has refused to shake hands with any of the four councillors from the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD).

A new coalition of legal bodies, charities and NGOs has launched a campaign calling on the Government to immediately allocate the funding necessary to develop a dedicated family law courts complex at the Hammond Lane site. The "Courting Disaster" campaign involves the Law Society of Ireland, The Bar

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said he will seek to fast-track legislation to establish perjury as a statutory offence. The Perjury and Related Offences Bill 2018 was introduced by Senator Pádraig Ó Céidigh and has since been amended by the Government to broaden its scope

Barrister, commentator and law lecturer Paul Anthony McDermott SC has passed away at the age of 47, the Law Library has said. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan led tributes on Twitter, writing that he was "deeply saddened" by the loss of "a very talented barrister, popular lecturer and entertaining

The prospective use of CCTV cameras with facial recognition technology at the new children's hospital in Dublin is "likely unlawful", the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has said. The contractor responsible for security systems at the hospital has purchased surveillance cameras from Hikvisi

A public consultation on proposed changes to Ireland's hate speech laws will close on Friday. The consultation was launched in October and has been described as the "first phase" of a wider update of criminal law on hate speech and hate crime.