Case Reports

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that a child return order under the Hague Convention should not have been stayed pending the outcome of his mother’s UK asylum appeal application. The court highlighted that the return order was directed towards Switzerland, the child&rsq

The Court of Appeal has held that section 47 of the Family Law Act 1995 does not confer a jurisdiction on a court to direct the preparation of a psychologists’ report concerning the welfare of a child where no specific relief is sought relating to child welfare. The legislation had received li

The High Court has held that the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) does not have jurisdiction to determine whether a valid tenancy existed in possession proceedings and, as such, refused an application by a defendant to adjourn the High Court proceedings until the RTB made a determination on the ten

The Court of Appeal has upheld a four-year disqualification from driving for a man who killed a 50-year-old woman in a rear-ending collision. The woman had been the passenger in a car driven by her daughter at the time of the accident. Delivering judgment in the case, Mr Justice John Edwards held th

The High Court has ruled that a plaintiff may proceed with a personal injuries claim for general damages despite being in breach of an unless order which required the proceedings to be dismissed. The plaintiff had previously agreed by consent to provide particulars of special damages but had failed

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected all grounds of a judicial review application regarding the height of a hedge in a Belfast neighbourhood. The court supported the tribunal decision which found that the hedge blocked light, and rejected claims that the decision was unlawful or gender-b

A Polish road haulier company that had 289 cases of cigarettes stolen from a lorry while transporting them by lorry from Poland to England has lost a UK Supreme Court appeal against a decision that they were liable for excise duty of nearly £450,000 levied on them by HMRC following the loss. M

The High Court has ruled that a plaintiff may proceed with a personal injuries claim for general damages despite being in breach of an unless order which required the proceedings to be dismissed. The plaintiff had previously agreed by consent to provide particulars of special damages but had failed

The High Court has dismissed an appeal against a decision by the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) regarding a €232,000 legal bill charged by a solicitor in family law proceedings. The appellant had claimed that the fees were excessive and that she had expected the fees to be approxima

The High Court has refused an application by a garda to quash a decision to suspend him pending the outcome of a criminal proceedings. The applicant had been charged with being drunk in charge of a vehicle after allegedly being found nearly four times over the legal limit. Delivering judgment in the

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that a mother of two children was not entitled to vote on whether or not her children should be placed on the Child Protection Registry. The court found that she was appropriately involved and represented in the procedure, and that the question of w

The High Court has determined that the Irish courts had jurisdiction to hear and determine claim against a UK-based company for breach of a consumer contract. The plaintiff was an Irish resident who had been injured on a cycling holiday in Sri Lanka organised by the defendant. Delivering judgment in

The High Court has held that a previous jurisdiction for the detention of wards of court did not survive the commencement of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. As such, it was held that the proper legal basis for a detention order relied on the inherent jurisdiction of the court. Deli

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal which claimed that a sentence of four years’ imprisonment for hijacking a car was manifestly excessive. The court found that the trial court was correct to impose this sentence, given the seriousness of the circumstances of the c

The Court of Appeal has increased the sentence for a man convicted of raping his two younger sisters as a teenager. The offending occurred while the man was aged between 14 and 19. He had initially been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment with the final 18 months suspended. Delivering judgmen