News

New guidelines are to be introduced on the commissioning, content and use of expert reports in the family courts. Justice minister Helen McEntee today published a wide-ranging review on the subject, which sets out 20 recommendations for reform, including the establishment of a panel of assessors to

Over 12,900 applications have been completed under the Birth Information and Tracing Act since services commenced, with all applications now being processed within the statutory timeframes, according to a new report. The second annual report on the implementation of the government's action plan for

UK lawyers tend to believe that the legal profession should self-regulate its use of AI, a survey suggests. A survey commissioned by Thomson Reuters found that 48 per cent of lawyers in UK firms and 50 per cent of UK in-house lawyers support self-regulation, with 36 per cent of lawyers in firms and

Members of the public have been urged to contribute to an inquiry into gaps in equality legislation in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Assembly's committee for the Executive Office is undertaking an inquiry into differences in equality legislation between Northern Ireland, other parts of the

Northern Ireland firm Cleaver Fulton Rankin has partnered with a global menopause training agency to deliver a landmark conference on menopause-inclusive workplaces.

The Attorney General has been asked to advise the government on options for introducing an unprecedented ban on XL Bully dogs. At present, no breeds of dog are banned in Ireland. There is a list of 11 restricted dog breeds — including the XL Bully — which are subject to certain controls,

Changes are to be made to family law proceedings to prevent parents from abusing controversial concepts like "parental alienation". Justice minister Helen McEntee said ministers had approved reforms to ensure that "issues like parental alienation cannot take hold and cannot be part of any decisions

Ministers have approved plans to streamline the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) licencing system, including by providing definite timeframes for licencing decisions. The Environmental Protection (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 will also provide more options for the EPA to efficiently regu

New protections for Ireland's valuable historic and archaeological heritage have come into effect. Provisions within the Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 now in force allow for the establishment and maintenance of inventories of relevant things of archaeolog

Hong Kong is becoming a totalitarian state, Lord Sumption has said. The former UK Supreme Court justice, who last week resigned from the territory's Court of Final Appeal amid fears of Beijing's influence, said that the rule of law has been “profoundly compromised” there.

Rishi Sunak has said he is prepared to lead the UK out of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) if re-elected as prime minister following next month's general election. Mr Sunak, whose Conservative Party is well behind the Labour Party in opinion polls and in danger of slipping into third place

A children's book about school book bans has been banned by schools in Florida. Ban This Book, written by Alan Gratz and published in 2017, is about a young girl who starts a secret banned book club in her school.

A disability discrimination claim brought by a person with a serious visual impairment against a healthcare service which insisted on communicating appointment dates through letters has been settled. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission provided legal assistance to the person in respect of

Major social media companies including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok may be failing to respect international human rights standards by removing abortion-related content on their platforms, according to Amnesty International. A new Amnesty report reveals how, since the 2022 US Supreme Court decision

Nearly £5 million of cash and assets were seized from organised crime groups in Northern Ireland last year, according to new figures. The 2022/23 annual report of the Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF) reveals that a total of £4.8 million was seized from criminals involved in drug traffic