Case Reports

The Supreme Court has upheld a conviction of sexual assault against a 14-year-old boy who smacked the bare bottom of a six-year-old child. The court held that the assault involved an element of indecency which justified the conviction of sexual assault as distinct from mere assault. Delivering the m

Northern Ireland's High Court has rejected a claim that the PSNI cannot ensure an independent investigation into the unsolved Cappagh murders. The application, brought by the brother of one of the victims under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, was found to be "doomed to fail". O

The Court of Appeal has dismissed two appeals brought by men convicted of an “appalling act of savagery and ferocity” which left a man with severe brain injuries. The men both received seven-year-and-six-month sentences, although one man had the final 24 months of his sentence suspended.

The UK Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by a man who along with his brother was convicted of aggravated burglary in County Down, Northern Ireland, against the decision of the sentencing judge to reduce the amount of his sentencing discount. Owen Maughan contended that the sentencing judge had n

The High Court has quashed a decision by the Minister for Justice and Equality to revoke the EU residency status of Georgian man on the basis that no oral hearing of the application took place. The Minister had determined that the applicant had engaged in a marriage of convenience for immigration pu

The Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction of a man accused of sexually assaulting his daughter in bed after the trial judge failed to adequately address the jury on whether the man was awake at the time of the offending. It was argued by the man that no assault occurred, but that if it did occu

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland was not liable for injuries sustained by a plaintiff after she lost control of her car. The plaintiff alleged that she crashed her car due to an oil spill on the road caused by the negligent use of an unidentified vehicle. Deliv

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed a challenge to a High Court decision refusing leave to judicially review a School Expulsion Appeal Tribunal. The court rejected the student’s claim that alternative options to expulsion had not been considered. The appellant, now aged 18,

The High Court has criticised the wording of the Adoption Act 2010, stating that the terms used “needlessly hurt the feelings of people” involved in the adoption process. The comments came as the court was ruling on an adoption application for a child who had been in foster care since he

The UK Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by a mail order company seeking repayment from HMRC of sums it claimed should have been regarded as recoverable VAT. Zipvit Ltd, which had mistakenly never been charged VAT for use of a special mail service provided by Royal Mail, argued that part of thei

The High Court has ruled that a gin distiller who produced hand sanitiser during the beginning of the Covid pandemic had a legitimate expectation that the product would be free from excise duty. The court held that there was an implied representation by the Revenue Commissioners that no excise duty

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal brought by a man seeking to avoid surrender to Lithuania on foot of a European arrest warrant. It was alleged that the appellant acquired and smuggled firearms from Lithuania into Ireland for the Real Irish Republican Army. The appellant argued that his surr

The Court of Appeal has extended a special care order for a vulnerable child in circumstances where there was no available stepdown facility for the child to return to the community. It was held that difficulties with such placements were a “long-term problem” in the State. Delivering ju

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed a claim that a prisoner’s human rights were infringed when his housing benefit was denied for four months during his period of imprisonment. The court found that there had been no discrimination between treatment of convicted and unconvict

The High Court has refused to set aside third-party proceedings in personal injuries proceedings where it was claimed that the defendant had delayed by two years in joining the third party. The court determined that the defendant had acted reasonably by waiting for replies to particulars and gatheri