Northern Ireland

Seven in 10 people across Great Britain oppose a key plank of the government's controversial Troubles legacy bill, according to a new opinion poll commissioned by Amnesty International. The human rights group has published the findings of the survey as the House of Lords continues to debate the Nort

Historic court cases are among a treasure trove of documents spanning more than 800 years which have been unveiled to mark the centenary of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). Speaking at a celebration event yesterday, Colum Boyle, permanent secretary of the Department for Communit

The Northern Ireland Office faces legal action over the disproportionate impact of budget cuts on disadvantaged children, including disabled children, the Children's Law Centre has warned. In a letter to Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, the law centre accused him of failing in his res

More work must be done to ensure greater understanding of and trust in public inquiries in Northern Ireland, an event hosted by global law firm Eversheds Sutherland has heard. The seminar at Belfast's Merchant Hotel took place as a number of significant public inquiries are taking place or expected

Senior Northern Ireland lawyers have shared concerns over the impact on the rule of law of the UK's proposed Illegal Migration Bill. The bill, which is currently before the House of Lords, was the focus of the inaugural event hosted by The Bar of Northern Ireland's new rule of law committee, which t

Chris Quinn has been appointed as the new commissioner for children and young people for Northern Ireland (NICCY), succeeding Koulla Yiasouma. In the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive, the appointment was made by Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris under the Northern Ire

Northern Ireland's presiding coroner will conduct a review of 13 legacy-related inquests on Friday as part of the five-year legacy inquest plan. The purpose of the reviews is to obtain oral updates from the representatives of the families in cases where a coroner has not yet been appointed.

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has urged members to complete a conveyancing survey which remains open until the end of next week. The Society said it is "keen to hear from solicitors at all levels and locations in order to identify areas of concern and would encourage all practising conveyancin

UK law firm TLT, with an office in Belfast, has celebrated after achieving a 33 per cent women partner representation target two years ahead of schedule. Women have accounted for just over half of partner promotions and hires in TLT over the past three years, twice as high as it was prior to the imp

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected all grounds of a judicial review application regarding the height of a hedge in a Belfast neighbourhood. The court supported the tribunal decision which found that the hedge blocked light, and rejected claims that the decision was unlawful or gender-b

The Belfast Solicitors' Association (BSA) has celebrated its 80th anniversary with its largest gala ball in over 15 years. Sarah Wilson, the BSA's chairperson and a lawyer in the Departmental Solicitors' Office, welcomed guests to Belfast City Hall for the event last Saturday and reflected on how th

Inspectors have called for urgent action at Maghaberry Prison after discovering a "serious drug problem" and other issues as the prison population balloons to a record 1,230. The number of prisoners in Northern Ireland's largest prison has risen by 48 per cent in five years, from 830 prisoners at th

Northern Ireland personal injury firm JMK Solicitors has raised £10,000 this year so far for charity partner PIPS Suicide Prevention, in conjunction with accident management company CRASH Services. PIPS Charity offers expert and unrestricted face-to-face counselling services to individuals who

Ellen Dalzell and Kevin Hegarty of Northern Ireland commercial law firm Tughans consider a recent English judgment involving a 'novus actus interveniens' defence in medical negligence proceedings. A common perception in medical negligence law is that a ‘specific rule’ exists as a necessa

International law firm DAC Beachcroft (DACB) has welcomed complex injury claims specialist Andrew Burke as a partner in its claims solution group (CSG) practice in Belfast. Mr Burke has been a solicitor at Murphy & O'Rawe since 2000 and was made partner in 2008. Prior to this he was a barrister