Northern Ireland

Professor Siobhán Wills has been named as the next director of the Transitional Justice Institute (TJI) at Ulster University. An internationally-recognised researcher on peacekeeping, international and human rights law, Professor Wills will take over as director from 1 October 2021.

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) failed to comply with its approved equality scheme while developing legislation to address the legacy of the past, the Equality Commission has found following an investigation. An investigation was launched after the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ)

Judicial salaries in Northern Ireland and across the UK have been frozen for a year, new figures from the Ministry of Justice show. The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Declan Morgan, received a salary of £234,184 in 2019. This rose to £238,868 last year but has remained the s

Belfast lawyer Linda Johnston, private client partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, has announced her retirement after 38 years in legal practice. Ms Johnston first joined Francis Hanna & Co in 1983 as a newly-qualified solicitor in the property law department. By 1988, she had become th

The late Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore "embodied" the case for always having a judge from Northern Ireland on the Supreme Court bench, Lady Hale has said. The former Supreme Court president reflected on the importance of the court having judges from all parts of the United Kingdom as she addressed a virtu

Northern Ireland's Department of Justice has no figures on the number of cases dismissed at court as a result of errors in warrants or improperly completed warrants. In response to a parliamentary question, justice minister Naomi Long said: "Departmental datasets do not hold information in relation

Strategic planning policy on oil and gas development in Northern Ireland is set to be reviewed to ensure it "remains appropriate in the context of the climate emergency". Infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon said the review will include consideration of unconventional hydrocarbon development, comm

Staff and friends of Madden & Finucane Solicitors are taking part in the Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon to raise money for Action Cancer and the Stroke Association. Solicitor advocate Michael Madden, pictured with other members of the Belfast Solicitors' Association, said: "This year we ha

Belfast law firm McKees has welcomed three new trainee solicitors after a record number of applications for its annual trainee solicitor programme. Catriona Lilley, Sarah Bissett and Anselm Henry will gain experience in the firm's corporate and commercial, banking and financial services, real estate

Temporary changes removing the requirement to hold a public event as part of pre-application community consultation on major planning applications in Northern Ireland will be extended for a further six months.

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has called on the UK government to "uphold the rule of law" and reconsider controversial plans to end all criminal investigations and prosecutions linked to killings during the Troubles. The sharpest intervention yet by the solicitors' body comes shortly after the

The PSNI has launched a review of its procedures for recruiting disabled people after settling a disability discrimination case brought by a man with autism, ADHD and Tourette's syndrome. The man had unsuccessfully applied for an administrative post with the PSNI via a recruitment campaign conducted

Lady Hale will deliver a speech on "Northern Ireland in the Supreme Court" at a virtual event hosted by the Belfast Solicitors Association (BSA) next week. Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, served as president of the UK Supreme Court from 2017 until her retirement in January 2020.

UK government plans to end all criminal prosecutions linked to the Troubles are "incompatible with the United Kingdom's international obligations", the European commissioner for human rights has said. In a letter to Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis, the Council of Europe's commissioner for h

The High Court has dismissed an application to hold police responsible for dismantling a dangerous bonfire, finding that the threat of “widespread unrest” outweighed the effects of the anti-social and unlawful behaviour. The emergency application was brought by AB, who lives in the vicin