Northern Ireland

Justice Minister Naomi Long has said it is not yet too late to bring forward a delayed bill on widely-supported proposals to abolish the so-called "rough sex" defence, strengthen the law around image-based sexual abuse and widen the scope of the law on abuse of trust. The Justice (Miscellaneous) Pro

Two newly-appointed County Court judges were sworn into office yesterday afternoon.

The presiding coroner for Northern Ireland has identified eight inquests which will be progressed under year two of the Lord Chief Justice's five-year plan for legacy inquests, which has been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. In a statement today, Mr Justice David McFarland said: "The impact of the

Belfast-based KRW LAW LLP has secured a six-figure damages payout for a victim of historic abuse at a Newry grammar school. Tony Gribben was abused over 45 years ago by the late Malachy Finnegan, the former president of St Colman's College in the Diocese of Dromore.

Intellectual property protection business Murgitroyd IP has appointed Belfast lawyer Joanne Lecky as managing director of its trade mark group. Ms Lecky has already been serving as interim managing director for trade marks prior to being confirmed for the permanent role.

Cleaver Fulton Rankin associate director Brendan Martyn has been appointed as the Northern Ireland trustee of the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA). Mr Martyn, elected at UKELA's AGM last week, will succeed CFR chairperson and director Karen Blair, who has served in the post for the maximum t

Children's rights expert Paddy Kelly has been appointed as the legally qualified commissioner to the Board of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI). Ms Kelly, a qualified barrister who also serves as director of the Children's Law Centre (CLC), has been appointed to the role for a five-

Northern Ireland's only remaining Victorian-era prison has reopened to visitors after a long period of closure during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A group of human rights NGOs, academics and lawyers has warned that new legacy proposals from the UK government "would breach both international law and the domestic Human Rights Act, deliver impunity, bury truth recovery and fundamentally undermine the rule of law". An open letter signed by 18 orga

Plans to establish a new joint "care and justice campus" for children and young people will go ahead after a consultation found broad support from the sector. More than 70 individuals and organisations responded to the consultation on proposals for a care and justice campus incorporating the existin

Rosemary Connolly, principal solicitor at Rosemary Connolly Solicitors, Employment and Equality Lawyers, examines a significant decision in a sex discrimination claim in England. The claimant in the Court of Appeal decision Steer v Stormsure Limited failed in an application for interim relief arisin

Mrs Justice Siobhan Keegan has been appointed as Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, becoming the first woman ever to hold the highest judicial position in Northern Ireland. She will be sworn in as successor to the incumbent Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, at the start of September 2021 &

The Department for Infrastructure has confirmed it will not appeal a Court of Appeal ruling that it broke EU competition rules in the awarding of contracts for road resurfacing. Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon told MLAs yesterday that the Department had considered "whether parts of the judgme

Economy Minister Paul Frew was last night facing cross-party calls for parental bereavement leave and pay legislation to be extended to couples following a miscarriage. The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill yesterday cleared the second stage in Stormont unopposed and will now proceed to comm

A new online probate portal, which aims to simplify the application process for people dealing with a person’s estate after their death, has gone live. The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunal Service (NICTS) developed the new online service as part of its modernisation programme and launched