Case Reports

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected an application challenging a 2021 decision of the justice minister to refuse to make a payment to an applicant out of an ex gratia compensation scheme. The court found that the refusal was rational and reasonable.

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that a 12-year sentence in relation to cultivating cannabis was not excessive, given the scope and value of the operation, and the control exercised by the accused. However, the court did reduce a separate sentence which had been applied concur

The High Court has awarded €92,500 in general damages to a woman who suffered multiple injuries in a significant head-on collision while driving her car. In so ruling, the court commented that there was nothing in the Personal Injuries Guidelines which prevented a court awarding a greater sum f

The High Court has directed that the full trial of the case involving Mr Enoch Burke and Wilson’s Hospital School will take place at the end of the month, despite the fact that the school had failed to comply with certain court directions. The school’s solicitors had been late in providi

Northern Ireland’s High Court has allowed a judicial review application brought by a serving police constable seeking to prevent a disciplinary hearing into allegations of gross misconduct. The court found that judicial review here was appropriate, despite the fact that there were alternative

The Court of Appeal has determined that it has limited jurisdiction to review a sentence imposed on a child who attained maturity by the time of an appeal. It was held that the court’s powers to review the severity of sentence involving detention were limited by statute to either quashing a co

The High Court has awarded €60,000 to a woman who suffered a back injury while working as a healthcare assistant in Limerick Regional Hospital. In so ruling, the court was required to assess the weight it should attach to the evidence of the plaintiff’s medical expert. It was argued by th

The Court of Appeal has upheld the validity of injunctions which were obtained by Wilson’s Hospital School to restrain a former teacher, Mr Enoch Burke, from attending the school premises. Delivering the main judgment in the case, Mr Justice George Birmingham held that both the interim and int

The High Court has set aside the grant of leave to bring judicial review proceedings after the applicant had provided a “grossly misleading” account of his complaint against a Circuit Court judge. The applicant had issued the proceedings after the Circuit Court had made certain orders in

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that the Northern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB) did not have grounds to reject medical evidence involving injuries at work for two former constables. The court found that the medical evidence determination, not the Board’s, was final.

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review which challenged cross-border license travel requirements. The court found that the restrictions were proportionate, especially given the ease of cross-border travel on the island of Ireland.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought by a woman seeking to set aside a third party notice on the grounds that she delayed for over two years before bringing the application. The woman was joined as a third party in an accident involving a child being burned by oil. Delivering judgment

The Court of Appeal has upheld a 10-year sentence imposed on a man who entered into a coercive sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl. The girl had a child with the man during the abuse. The accused had pleaded guilty to one count of the defilement of a child and one count of sexual assault. De

The High Court has refused an application for an interlocutory injunction restraining An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG) from pursuing disciplinary proceedings against an Irish dancing teacher. The plaintiff had been implicated as one of dozens of instructors involved in fixing danc

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has upheld a decision permitting evidence of sexual assault in the context of a family court application where the same evidence was rejected as hearsay in a criminal trial. The facts of this case are explicit and reader discretion is advised.