Case Reports

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that there was procedural unfairness in refusing to allow witnesses to remain seated during a tribunal hearing while providing seats for pupil barristers. The court found that although pandemic restrictions were the cause of the occupancy limit

The High Court has ruled that the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) erred in law by excluding a Russian man from international protection based on claims that he had committed a serious non-political crime. The man claimed that he feared being persecuted by the Russian authorities, al

The High Court has ruled that negligence proceedings against a firm of solicitors should be struck out due to inordinate and inexcusable delay in prosecuting the proceedings. The plaintiff had initiated proceedings in 2013 and had passed away in 2020. The proceedings were maintained by his son. Deli

The Supreme Court has granted leave to appeal in a dispute involving the insurance liability for injuries sustained by an employee while operating a rubbish truck. The proceedings had developed as a special case to determine liability between two insurers of the truck. Delivering a determination in

The High Court has ruled that a prison officer in the Irish Prison Service was not entitled to legal representation at a disciplinary hearing. The officer was facing allegations of improper conduct including that he made inappropriate contact with the wife of a prisoner and made threats against a pr

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal alleging that the Department of Health breached data privacy and GDPR requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic. The court upheld the decision of the trial court in the Williams case [2022] NIQB 12, delivered by Mr Justice Adrian Colto

The High Court has held that the Dublin County Registrar was incorrect to dismiss possession proceedings for failure to comply with “previous court orders” on the basis that the County Registrar acted in excess of jurisdiction. The plaintiff had previously been directed by the County Reg

The High Court has ruled that a defendant was properly served with proceedings where the papers had been served on a solicitor who was not on record in the case. The court stated that the solicitor had previously received a full set of papers and that she had been in communication with the defendant

The Court of Appeal has upheld an award of €94,000 for personal injuries sustained by a flight attendant on a Ryanair plane. The plaintiff claimed that she slipped on de-icing fluid which was present on the vinyl surface of the floor. Delivering judgment in the case, Mr Justice Seamus Noonan he

The High Court has granted an extension of time to bring judicial review proceedings against the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) following a stamping error in the High Court’s Central Office. The application had been filed in time but was delayed due to the applicant being cha

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application to judicially review a compassionate bail application. The court found that the prisoner’s request to attend his sister's funeral was not a "criminal cause or matter" which could be appealed to the UK Supreme Court. The applicant

The Court of Appeal has quashed a conviction for a man who stabbed his roommate on the grounds that certain statements made to gardaí should not have been admitted at trial. The accused had been suffering from psychosis at the time of the attack, it was held. Delivering judgment in the case,

The Supreme Court has held that the HSE’s CEO was entitled to suspend a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist after he had performed experiments on several patients without their consent. The Court of Appeal had previously ruled the ongoing suspension to be unlawful, holding there was no e

The Supreme Court has ruled that a child born in the UK via a surrogacy arrangement was not entitled to Irish citizenship based on his non-biological father’s Irish citizenship. The parents were a same-sex married couple and had obtained a parental order in England, which was not available in

The High Court has ruled that Donegal County Council must pay the legal costs of a councillor after discontinuing injunction proceedings against him. The Council had obtained an interlocutory injunction restraining Mr Frank McBrearty from attending Council meetings in February 2022 due to his conduc