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Belfast firm Carson McDowell has become the official legal patron of the construction industry in Northern Ireland, the Construction Employers Federation (CEF) has announced. Carson McDowell has signed up to the CEF Patronage Scheme, which sees organisations from a range of sectors come together to

Lawyers for Michaella McCollum, a 21-year-old woman recently freed from prison in Peru following a conviction for drug offences, are preparing to launch legal proceedings against an Irish newspaper. In a statement, solicitor Kevin Winters of Belfast firm KRW Law alleged that Ms McCollum's family was

Amnesty International has called for abortion laws to be reformed as a second case involving a woman accused of procuring drugs to induce a miscarriage comes before Belfast Crown Court. Yesterday, a 21-year-old woman was given a three-month jail sentence suspended for two years after illegally induc

The submissions deadline for the 10th North South Irish Criminology Conference has been extended to late April. The general theme of the conference, which takes place in Maynooth University on 23 and 24 June 2016, is: ‘Beyond the Penal State: Exploring the Boundaries of Punishment’.

The execution of a European Arrest Warrant must be deferred if there is a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment because of the conditions of detention of the person concerned in the member state where the warrant was issued. And, if the existence of that risk cannot be discounted within a reas

A founder of the law firm at the centre of revelations into the offshore wealth of world leaders, criminals and others – disclosed in a cache of 11.5 million documents – has said the firm was hacked. Ramon Fonseca, of Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca, has lodged a criminal complaint with prosecut

The European Union’s General Court is preparing for the arrival of new members as part of a revised structure, consisting of nine chambers of five judges, to be introduced in September. The legislation provides initially for 12 new judges to be appointed to the General Court, and subsequently for

The High Court has ordered for a solicitor, Mr Patrick Enright, to be struck off the Roll of Solicitors, as a result of fraudulent activity carried out by him in 1994. The Law Society had brought the application following a finding by the Disciplinary Tribunal that Mr Enright was not a fit person to

A 21-year-old woman who was reported to police after illegally inducing her miscarriage has been given a three-month prison sentence suspended for two years. The woman, who cannot be named due to a court order, was convicted in Belfast Crown Court of offences under section 58 of the Offences Against

Conor Faughnan, director of consumer affairs at the AA Public confidence in road safety laws is being undermined by inconsistent outcomes in Ireland's courts, a leading road safety advocate has warned.

Franklin Dehousse The European Court of Justice (ECJ) abused its own rules in order to double the number of judges in the General Court, one of its tribunal members has said.

The family of Denis Donaldson has called on An Garda Síochána to co-operate fully with the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland's investigation into his murder ten years ago. Mr Donaldson, formerly a senior member of Sinn Féin, was shot in April 2006, less than six months after being publicly na

Michael Lowry Ex-government minister Michael Lowry has been ordered to pay costs in his failed legal bid to prevent his prosecution for offences under the Finance (No. 2) Act 2008.

The Court of Appeal has found that section 6(8) of the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 can be interpreted as applying a legal burden of proof on defendants accused of taking part in unnotified processions. The appellant, Mr Jamie Bryson, had been charged with four offences of taking p

Nearly 34,000 new personal injury claims were submitted to the Injuries Board in 2015, representing a six per cent increase in new claims compared to 2014. There were a total of 33,561 new personal injury claims in 2015 and the Government-run Board made 11,734 compensation awards, totalling €278.4