News

A Northern Ireland policeman who refused to shave his beard has been awarded £10,000 by an employment tribunal. Constable Gordon Downey had been transferred from an armed response unit after refusing to abide by a policy that officers be clean-shaven.

A consultant psychiatrist has been awarded €4,000 after it was found that he was penalised for making a protected disclosure about the clinical performance of a colleague. Ordering the employer to pay compensation for penalising the complainant, Adjudication Officer Kevin Baneham found tha

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) has taken over responsibility for complaints made in respect of solicitors and barristers. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan signed the necessary commencement orders yesterday morning, a spokesperson told Irish Legal News.

The Law Society of Ireland has announced the launch of a new initiative designed to promote wellbeing in the solicitors' profession in Ireland. Independent research recently commissioned by the Law Society revealed that 57 per cent of solicitors frequently experience very high or extreme levels of s

Community Law & Mediation (CLM) delivered 1,360 hours of free mediation services last year, helping to resolve more than 150 disputes. The independent, community-based law centre said demand for mediation as an alternative to court has grown over recent years.

A legal action in Scotland seeking a court order to force the Prime Minister to write a letter requesting a Brexit extension in the event that no deal has been agreed between the UK and the EU has been dismissed after a judge ruled that it was not required. The Edinburgh-based Court of Session held

British intelligence officers erased hard drives held by a judge-led inquiry examining the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane in 2002, it has emerged. The retired Canadian judge, Peter Cory, who was leading the inquiry, complained to police but did not press the matter in order to avoid an int

The second annual Irish Supreme Court Review (ISCR) conference will take place at Trinity College Dublin this weekend. Professor Imelda Maher, dean of law at University College Dublin and the inaugural Sutherland full professor of European law, will deliver the keynote speech on the Supreme Court's

A High Court judge has described the prison service's failure to bring a man on trial for plotting a murder to court as "baffling". Liam Brannigan, 37, denies conspiring to murder Gary Hanley at a location within the State between 15 September and 6 November 2017.

The UK Supreme Court is offering school pupils the opportunity to have a live question and answer session with a justice from their own classroom. Applications for the Ask a Justice programme will close on the 15th November 2019 and the successful candidates will be contacted in December.

A hundred possible jurors in the retrial of Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield have been quizzed on what football team they support. At a hearing in Preston Crown Court yesterday, potential jurors were asked whether they, or close relatives or friends, were supporters of Liverpool, Evert

A team competing in the world checkers championship was held captive in the hotel hosting the tournament because the bill had not been paid. The Dutch checkers team were not allowed to leave the hotel in the Ivory Coast until the bill had been settled, they said on Facebook.

A man who brought a case to the Workplace Relations Commission seeking redress for discrimination on the grounds of gender has had his complaint dismissed. The man complained that he was not allowed to use a room designated for use by females only and that he was being discriminated against since th

Dublin firms Flynn O'Driscoll (FOD) and Fanning & Kelly have announced a merger, bringing together FOD's full service offering with Kieran Kelly's extensive experience in media and defamation law. The combined firm will operate from the Flynn O'Driscoll offices at No. 1 Grants Row, Lower Mount S

Draft legislation providing for two weeks' paid parent's leave for each working parent of a child has been published. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said up to 60,000 people could benefit within a year from the scheme, which he hopes to roll out by the start of November.