Northern Ireland

The legal aid financial eligibility test has been waived in Northern Ireland for victims of domestic abuse who need to respond to an application by their abuser. Justice minister Naomi Long yesterday commenced section 28 of the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021, which

Northern Ireland should adopt a 'Barnahus' system to avoid re-traumatising children who have been sexually abused through the criminal justice process, Northern Ireland's commissioner for children and young people has said. A new report published yesterday explores the benefit of adopting the "one-d

The long-delayed public state apology to victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland will be delivered by five ministers in the absence of a first minister and deputy first minister. There were fears that the resignation of first minister Paul Givan would lead to the

P.A. Duffy & Co Solicitors has announced the appointment of Carla Fraser as a solicitor practising primarily in the areas of matrimonial and family law. A graduate of NUI Galway and the Institute of Professional Legal Studies at Queen's University Belfast, Ms Fraser has nearly a decade of experi

The Law Society of Northern Ireland's annual legal walk for charity will resume after a three-year hiatus this May. This year's walk/run will take place on Friday 20 May 2022 to raise funds for Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI, the Law Society's chosen charity of the year.

English barrister Paul Marshall, who represented some of the victims of the Post Office miscarriage of justice scandal, will deliver a talk at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) in Belfast next month. Mr Marshall will speak on "Failed Justice - how commercial interest displaced the i

The Northern Ireland Assembly can "roll back" the Home Office's hostile environment in some areas, according to a new legal analysis. The research paper produced by barrister Mark Bassett for the Belfast-based Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) highlights what can be done by Northern I

Northern Ireland's new stalking legislation will be a "fitting tribute" to the lawyer who helped to draft it before passing away late last year, justice minister Naomi Long has said. As the Protection from Stalking Bill reached the final stage in Stormont yesterday, Mrs Long paid tribute to David Se

Emma Stratton, solicitor at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors in Belfast, welcomes a recent judgment in England and Wales. The High Court in England and Wales has for the first time used the term ‘gaslighting’ in a judgment to describe coercive behaviours.

Corporate law firm A&L Goodbody (ALG) has announced a new partnership between its Belfast office and Platform55, an organisation focused on creating more inclusive workplaces for parents.

Northern Ireland's new stand-alone offence of domestic abuse has come into force. The new offence under the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021, which came into force yesterday, criminalises patterns of non-physical abusive behaviour as well as physical abuse.

Judith Rountree, associate at Carson McDowell, offers a Northern Ireland practitioner's perspective on the new Highway Code in England, Wales and Scotland. The Department for Transport in England, Wales and Scotland have implemented a revised Highway Code which came into force on 29 January 2022. A

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review of the Covid-Status certification scheme, finding that the regulations introduced had been a legal, legitimate, necessary and proportionate response to the pandemic emergency. This decision was one of a series surro

Coleraine firm Macaulay Wray Solicitors has announced the promotion of John McCaughan to partner in the firm.

Stop and search powers are being disproportionately used in Northern Ireland against people from ethnic minority communities and on children, new figures reveal. A total of 25,503 people were stopped and searched by PSNI officers in 2021, according to the latest statistics, with just six per cent of