Northern Ireland

New codes of practice to help disrupt the activities of organised crime groups in Northern Ireland will come into force at the end of June, Justice Minister Naomi Long has said. The three revised codes and one new code issued under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) will bring Northern Ireland in

Belfast solicitor Trevor Ringland MBE has been appointed by the UK government as the first special envoy to the United States on Northern Ireland. Mr Ringland, a partner at Macaulay & Ritchie Solicitors, will be responsible for promoting Northern Ireland interests across the US, including in the

Professor Grainne McKeever, professor of law and social justice at the University of Ulster, has been appointed to chair an independent review of the discretionary support scheme. Professor McKeever will be joined on the panel by Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick, also of University of Ulster; Gerry McConville o

Black Lives Matter protesters facing charges under Covid-19 regulations have been told they will not be prosecuted. The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said it had concluded that the test for prosecution was not met in respect of any of 14 suspects on evidential grounds.

Belfast-based KRW LAW LLP has welcomed four new paralegals across its civil, criminal and legacy departments. Jack Murphy joined the criminal defence team and will assist in specialist Crown Court, Magistrates' court and Court of Appeal defence cases.

Barrister-led GDPR compliance consultancy Briefed.pro has announced plans to invest over £760,000 in its Belfast office following support from Invest NI. Specialising in protecting clients from fines and possible prosecutions, Briefed's data protection compliance products and consultancy servi

Legislation to provide for parental bereavement leave and pay has been introduced to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Under the bill, employees who suffer the loss of a child under the age of 18, or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, will have a statutory entitlement to two weeks' leave and, in

The High Court has awarded £125,000 to Arlene Foster arising out of a defamation action taken against celebrity doctor Christian Jessen. Giving judgment in the case, Mr Justice Gerry McAlinden stated that it was an “outrageously bad libel” which caused significant upset to the Firs

The Department of Health (DoH) paid £32.8 million on clinical and social care negligence cases in 2019/20, a 12 per cent increase on the previous year. A new statistical bulletin shows that £23.2 million was paid in damages in the year ending 31 March 2020, £6.6 million was paid in

Legislation to introduce the most significant reforms to Northern Ireland's gambling laws in over 35 years will be introduced within weeks. Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey today announced a "two-phased approach", with immediate legislation to be followed in the longer-term with the introduction

The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has launched an investigation into an allegation of race discrimination in the police handling of a Black Lives Matter protest in Derry last summer. A member of the public who took part in the protest on Saturday 6 June 2020 has alleged inconsistencies in th

Maghera firm Mallon & Co Solicitors has been named as a new corporate partner of Derry GAA.

Concerns have been raised that Westminster legislation to recognise overseas qualifications could affect lawyers in Northern Ireland and Scotland without their input. The Professional Qualifications Bill, currently at committee stage, would treat individuals seeking to practise particular profession

The Department of Justice is to seek permission from MLAs to publish a modern slavery and human trafficking strategy every three years instead of every one year. Writing in the foreword to the fourth annual strategy, Justice Minister Naomi Long said the government's "understanding of these crimes an

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 could fall to the wayside for over a year due to a political deadlock. Justice Minister Naomi Long was quizzed by MLAs yesterda