News

The controversial Judicial Appointments Commission Bill has completed the final stage in the Seanad after 125 hours of debate. The Government imposed a guillotine last night to bring debate on the legislation to an end, despite protests from opposition politicians.

Controversial legislative plans to give adopted people access to their birth records have been dropped due to a failure to reach agreement with stakeholders. In a statement, Children's Minister Dr Katherine Zappone said the decision was taken following a period of "intensive briefings and consultati

The Government should take urgent action to address the "dysfunctions and failures" in the homeless system, Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) has said. The law centre, which provides legal advice to people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, has published a new research report on the su

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan of Richard Grogan & Associates looks at the law surrounding bonus payments as the end of the year looms. The issue of bonus payments regularly arises particularly where an employee is leaving close to or at the time of the payment of a bonus.

International law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has announced a £2 million five-year partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The firm's partnership with MSF began in Australia and now includes the Belfast office as well as its teams in London, Johannesburg, Hong Kong and

Increased take-up of artificial intelligence technology in the legal sector could put tens of thousands of paralegals and other support staff out of a job, according to research published by the Law Society of England and Wales. The legal regulator commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies (

Three heart patients died after an angry mob of lawyers rampaged through a hospital in Lahore in a dispute with lawyers. Some 200 lawyers in their traditional black suits descended upon the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), destroying windows and doors and setting a police van on fire.

The EU's decision to gift 250 camels to a country known for having millions of camels has been derided by locals. The animals will be deployed in Mauritania's military camel cavalry units, but critics took to social media to say they would have preferred a high-tech contribution.

Four models for capping personal injury awards have been set out by the Law Reform Commission in an issues paper published today. The Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG) and the Personal Injuries Commission (PIC) previously recommended that the law reform body should examine whether a statutory c

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