News

A judge in Virginia has ruled that the Confederate statues in Charlottesville are war memorials protected by law and that they cannot be removed. Judge Richard Moore made the decision in a case against city council members who voted two years ago to take down a statue of Confederate General Robert E

A burglar who was stabbed to death by a pensioner was lawfully killed, a coroner has ruled. Henry Vincent was stabbed to death as he burgled the home of Richard Osborn-Brooks, 78, in southeast London last April.

Director Joe Berlinger's new Ted Bundy biopic arrives in cinemas and on Sky Cinema today amid a storm of controversy over its casting of former teen heart-throb Zac Efron as the notorious murderer, rapist and necrophile who killed at least 30 women in the 1970s. The film, described by Berlinger as a

Our sister publication, Scottish Legal News, recalls a scandalous divorce case from just across the water. Donald Findlay QC has narrated an audiobook on the divorce case of the Duchess of Argyll – Allan Nicol’s Three Strand Pearl Necklace.

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. TfL Tube chiefs ban adverts from 11 countries over poor human rights

A shocked motorist protested his innocence after failing a roadside breathalyser test because he ate a durian. The notoriously stinky fruit apparently registered a false positive for alcohol, and the man was cleared after submitting a blood sample.

The Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland has held that a District Judge in the Magistrates’ Courts was not correct in refusing to hear an application made by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) asserting public interest immunity of a document sought for disclosure. Delivering the judgment of t

The Law Society of Ireland has announced its support for proposed constitutional amendments to remove the minimum living apart period for spouses seeking a divorce from the Constitution. In a major new report written by Dr Geoffrey Shannon, a member of the Law Society's family and child law committe

Plans to criminalise revenge pornography and upskirting have received Government backing. The Cabinet has approved the drafting of amendments to the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017, which was introduced by Labour TD Brendan Howlin following a 2016 report by the Law

Legislation to implement the recommendations of High Court judge Mr Justice Charles Meenan on alternatives to court for claims arising from the CervicalCheck scandal has taken a major step forward. The Department of Health has published the General Scheme of the CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019, whi

Three Northern Ireland solicitors will compete against their colleagues from south of the border in exhaustive physical challenges to raise funds for solicitors and their families during difficult times. The solicitors are part of the Law Society of Northern Ireland team in the inaugural Iron Law Tr

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan of Richard Grogan & Associates writes on a case concerning the dismissal of an employee involved in criminal activity. In case ADJ13353, the Adjudication Officer quoted the case of Crowe v An Post [2016] ELR 93 and the book Redmond on Dismissal Law, edited

The Department of Justice and Probation Board NI (PBNI) will complete an assessment of a domestic violence pilot at Londonderry Magistrates' Court by September under the updated domestic and sexual violence and abuse strategy. Since last March, judges in Derry have been allowed to refer those convic

Social enterprises which are tackling re-offending rates by providing employment opportunities for people with previous convictions are to receive €300,000 in public funding. The funding, provided by the Department of Justice's Social Impact Programme under its "KickStart" Seed Fund, consists o

Bill Holohan, senior partner at Holohan Lane, is set to commence a PhD doctorate programme organised by the Law Society of Ireland and University of Northumbria this summer. He joked that he is a "glutton for punishment", having just completed the two-year Master's in Advanced Legal Practice offered