Northern Ireland

The Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland is to lead a new judicial working group to explore the family court system and make recommendations for improvements and reform. Announcing the move in her speech to mark the opening of the Northern Ireland legal year yesterday, Dame Siobhan Keegan said she

Patricia MacBride has been appointed as a lay member of the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission (NIJAC). Ms MacBride, who was a lay magistrate from 2005 until 2008, has been appointed for a five-year term until 2 September 2029.

A new solar farm at Hydebank Wood Secure College and Female Prison is to produce around 15 per cent of the site's total annual power needs. The 668 solar panels, capable of producing 356 kWp of electricity, are estimated to reduce electricity bills at the facility by around £60,000 per year, b

Northern Ireland firm Turley Legal has welcomed lawyers Eileen McKendry-Gray, Kathryn O'Hagan and Rachel Scroggie to its team. Ms McKendry-Gray joins as a consultant, bringing over a decade of industry experience as a group general counsel and a background with a UK Top 50 regional firm.

A record 1,411 racist incidents and 891 racist crimes were recorded by the PSNI in the year ending June 2024, according to new data. The annual figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) show that racist crimes represented 0.9 per cent of all recorded crime during the p

Nazia Latif has been appointed to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. Her appointment by Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn will take effect from 1 September 2024 for a period of three years.

Mairead Holder has been appointed as a commissioner to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC). Mrs Holder, a barrister who is the current official solicitor for Northern Ireland, will take up the appointment with effect from 1 September 2024.

The UK government has begun consulting on its plans to repeal and replace the previous administration's controversial legacy law. Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn yesterday held meetings with the South East Fermanagh Foundation and the Victims and Survivors Forum in Belfast.

Legislation criminalising the abduction of cats and dogs has come into force in Northern Ireland. The Pet Abduction Act 2024 creates specific offences for the abduction of cats and dogs, which the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) says recognises that they are not mere

Solicitor Ema Cubitt has been appointed as Northern Ireland's first independent autism reviewer. The role will include monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of Northern Ireland's autism strategy and reviewing the adequacy of services provided to autistic people, their families and carers a

Belfast law firm Millar McCall Wylie has acted for the owners of two shopping centres on deals that will see Spanish fashion chain Mango open two new concept stores in Northern Ireland. Mango will come to Derry's Foyleside shopping centre and Craigavon's Rushmere shopping centre this year.

Belfast-based Edwards & Co Solicitors has appointed Kellie Morwood as the firm's youngest ever partner. Ms Morwood, 28 years old, graduated from Queen's University Belfast School of Law with a first-class honours degree in 2017 and achieved a distinction at the Institute of Professional Legal St

Law student Olivia Feron is attending the One Young World 2024 Summit in Montreal, Canada this September as a returning One Young World Global Ambassador. Ms Feron, a third year student at Queen's University Belfast School of Law and co-chair of the Women in Law Society, is heading to Montreal after

Solicitors John McDaid and Paul Mageean have been appointed to the management board of the Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland. Mr McDaid was chief executive of the Legal Aid Board south of the border from 2014 to 2023.

Despite Labour's promise to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy Act, truth, justice, acknowledgement and reparation for victims and survivors of conflict-related sexual violence remains elusive, writes Professor Cheryl Lawther. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 has ge