News

Controversial UK government plans to offer amnesties for killings during the Troubles will have to be reconsidered if ruled to be incompatible with European human rights law, Sir Declan Morgan has said. Sir Declan, a former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, is to serve as the chief commissione

A former Algerian defence minister is to face trial in Switzerland for allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity over his participation in the Algerian civil war, which raged from 1991 to 2002. Khaled Nezzar, 85, served as Algeria's defence minister from 1990 to 1993 and was a member of

Burger King is being sued by disgruntled US customers who say the chain's famous Whopper isn't as big in real life as it is in adverts. A judge in Miami, Florida last week granted permission for the class-action lawsuit — alleging the burgers are advertised as "approximately 35 per cent larger

Russian protest band Pussy Riot suffered degrading treatment at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics when band members were whipped and pepper-sprayed by Cossack security forces, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled. In yesterday's Chamber judgment in the case of Verzilov and Others v. Rus

A new book by legal historian Dr Niamh Howlin is to set out the history of the barristers' profession "from the turbulent twenties until the Celtic Tiger years". Barristers in Ireland: An Evolving Profession Since 1921, to be published by Four Courts Press in October, draws upon interviews conducted

The District Court scale of costs has been updated for the first time since 2014, with increases of at least five per cent across the board. The District Court (Costs) Rules 2023 set out a new schedule of costs for solicitors in various categories of civil proceedings, as well as briefing fees for c

The courts.ie website is back online after a weekend outage, though some "intermittent problems" remain. The website — including its extensive database of judgments — was unavailable for most of the weekend and Monday.

Long-established Galway firms MG Ryan & Co and Kieran Murphy & Co are to merge, creating a new firm called MG Ryan Kieran Murphy LLP. The merger will take effect from 1 September 2023, creating a new law practice comprising four partners, four solicitors and a total staff of 20 people.

Dublin firm McGrath Mullan LLP has welcomed Elaine O'Sullivan, Eoghan McMahon, Hannah Clinton and Taise Azevedo as partners. In a statement, the firm said: "The entire team at McGrath Mullan LLP is excited about this new chapter. As we welcome our new partners, the firm is not only poised for contin

A TV news crew preparing to film a segment about a rise in armed robberies was robbed at gunpoint yesterday. TV network Univision said its reporter and cameraman were preparing to film in Chicago on Monday morning when they were suddenly approached by three armed and masked men in two vehicles.

The Supreme Court has upheld a finding that the burden of proof for the "reasonable mistake" defence in child sexual offence cases is incompatible with the Constitution. The court yesterday ruled unanimously that section 3(5) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006, which provides that the "r

David Ryan has been appointed as a partner at Co Cork-based Adams Donnelly Solicitors LLP. Mr Ryan brings over 22 years' experience in areas of law including commercial and residential conveyancing, banking and security law, renewable energy projects, and wills and probate.

An interim report by Mazars sets out "alarming gaps in internal policies, procedures and controls" at RTÉ, the government has said. Catherine Martin, minister for tourism, culture, arts, Gaeltacht, sport and media, published the report from the forensic accountant appointed to examine the use

A record number of divorce applications were brought to the High Court last year, with a 10 per cent increase in cases with more than €3 million in assets at stake, according to reports. There were 53 divorce cases initiated in the High Court and 5,498 in the Circuit Court in 2022, the Irish In

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is aiming to grow its programme of work as part of a five-year strategy, it said on the launch of its 2022 annual report. The human rights organisation's latest annual report sets out a summary of its work in 2022 on areas including policing reform, fair