News

Northern Ireland's Justice Minister David Ford celebrated the start of the Christmas season with members of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) in St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast yesterday. Mr Ford joined the Lord Lieutenant of Belfast, Fionnuala O'Boyle, at the service organised by the NIPS Cen

in complex and lengthy mediation, meant that an Order was in this case inappropriate.

Children's Minister James Reilly Ireland's Children's Minister James Reilly has signed a statutory instrument removing the common law defence of "reasonable chastisement" in cases of corporal punishment.

Tánaiste Joan Burton Tánaiste Joan Burton has led renewed calls for the introduction of a new system of unpaid fine collection in Ireland following the brief and controversial imprisonment of two independent TDs.

Senator Katherine Zappone, report rapporteur An Oireachtas sub-committee has recommended revising the Charities Act 2009 to include "the advancement of human rights" in its list of charitable purpose.

Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers Groups representing the families of more than 150 victims of the Troubles have used a full-page advertisement in the Irish News to criticise the UK government and call for the establishment of an independent Historical Investigations Unit (HIU).

Members of the Oireachtas banking inquiry committee are not guaranteed legal security if court action is taken against their final report, The Irish Times reports. Sara Moorhead SC attended yesterday's committee meeting to offer legal advice on the content of the report, which is due to be distribut

Lawyers acting for the family of the late Denis Donaldson are to launch legal proceedings against An Garda Síochána in the European Court of Justice. Mr Donaldson, once a leading member of Sinn Féin, was killed in April 2006 shortly after being exposed as an informer for police and British securi

The Oireachtas foreign affairs committee has refused to invite lawyers for Ibrahim Halawa to a public hearing. Mr Halawa, an Irish citizen, is awaiting a mass trial in Egypt after his arrest in 2013 for his alleged participation in a political protest.

Justice Minister David Ford Northern Ireland's Justice Minister David Ford has welcomed the UK government's announcement that an enhanced UK-wide "modern slavery" helpline will be launched next year.

A judge of the Circuit Civil Court has said a mother and son who withdrew a €120,000 damages claim following an alleged car accident should be charged with perjury unless they leave the country. Adam Majewski, 36, and Eugenia Markowska, 56, currently live in Poland but were living in London at the

Louis Maguire has lost his appeal against his conviction for murder and arson with intent to endanger life, after arguing that he had not received a fair trial, due in part to being unrepresented for a large part of the trial. Mr Maguire was found guilty in 2006 of the murder of Mr David Barnes, and

Gerry McAlinden QC, chairman of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland Members of the legal profession are today marking Human Rights Day, an international commemoration of the day on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has published a major report which recommends a "fundamental restructuring of An Garda Síochána across the country".

Mark Toland, deputy chief inspector of the Garda Inspectorate A backlog of computers and other technology which have been seized for forensic analysis is contributing to court delays and case dismissals, the Garda Inspectorate has admitted.