Case Reports

The High Court has ruled that the State failed to comply with its legal obligations to meet the basic needs of an Afghan refugee on his arrival to Ireland. The boy was under 18 years old when he came to Ireland but he had no documentation and was refused accommodation. Delivering judgment in the cas

Northern Ireland's Court of Appeal has dismissed all grounds of appeal brought by a 62-year-old veteran involved in making and distributing indecent images of children. The man had been sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment in relation to 37 criminal counts following an investigation involving over 1

The Court of Appeal has overturned a decision by the High Court which measured a solicitor’s costs at €53,000. The solicitor had sued the defendants for fees for acting in litigation contesting a family member’s will. Delivering judgment in the case, Mr Justice Senan Allen held that

The Court of Appeal has upheld an award of €47,000 for a woman who injured her face while attempting to step over seats at a GAA pitch. The woman had been found 50 per cent liable for the injury, but the defendants argued that they should have no liability whatsoever based on the Byrne v. Arden

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal brought by a Sergeant assigned to the Air Corps against a refusal to consider him for a promotion to Flight Sergeant. He had been refused the promotion because he had not completed a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer course. Delivering judgment in the case, Mr

The Court of Appeal has quashed a conviction for sexual assault against a seven-year-old boy on the basis that the trial judge erred in failing to direct an acquittal. The complaint in the case was that the accused touched the boy’s penis and rubbed their bodies together. However, the court he

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that a decision to quash a 2008 conviction for indecent assault in light of a legislative error and subsequently re-prosecute the case was unlawful. Mr Justice O'Hara ruled that the original conviction should not have been quashed in 2020 after it e

Northern Ireland’s High Court has quashed a decision by Belfast City Council to subject a consignment of Halloween costumes to a detention. The court found that the products could not be classified as children’s toys and the respondent therefore acted ultra vires.

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has increased a child murderer's sentence from 13 to 16 years, despite fears of double jeopardy and failures by the prosecution, as the interests of justice demanded it. This was a reference brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review brought by the owner of a trout hatchery who claimed that the Department of Agriculture failed in its statutory duty to conserve waterways. The court found that the respondent took extensive steps to comply with its

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rescinded two orders rejecting the right to trial by jury in defamation cases between Sir Van Morrison and former health minister Robin Swann. The court found that the trial judge erred in considering the facts and issues in the two cases together to deny

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that a prisoner’s request to attend external counselling services during the last 12 months of his sentence was not irrationally or discriminatorily denied, even if the scheme in place wasn’t “the best way to provide for resettleme

A judge in the High Court of England and Wales has found that the director of a software company had infringed the copyright of his former employer after he founded his own company to carry on a similar business. It was alleged by PQ Systems Europe Ltd (PQE) and Productivity-Quality Systems Inc, an

Northern Ireland’s High Court has denied two interlocutory applications sought by environmental campaigners challenging the development of a gas storage facility at Islandmagee. The first application was for a strike-out of various parts of the respondent’s evidence, and the second was f

The Supreme Court has held that the recognition of foreign adoption orders of children born by commercial surrogacy arrangements was not contrary to public policy. This ruling was made despite the general prohibition on commercial adoptions in Ireland.