Northern Ireland

Improvements in the processing of criminal legal aid payments in Northern Ireland have been hampered by the availability of legal aid funding, a watchdog has warned. An inspection report from Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) has found that the new Legal Aid Management System (LAMS)

Northern Ireland's High Court has refused an application for judicial review into the investigation of the 1972 death of Telford Stuart, a member of a covert security force. The court found that the PSNI was entitled to limit their investigations to Troubles shootings by the Army, rather than cases

Northern Ireland employers with employees based south of the border have been urged to have a written remote working policy in place to ensure they comply with new legislation and to avoid potential fines. The Right to Request Remote Work Bill 2021 will make it an offence for an employer to fail, wi

Northern Ireland's High Court has struck out a negligence claim against publishers of personal information relating to a young offender. However, the court also denied the Daily Mail's request to strike out proceedings on the basis of want of prosecution and abuse of process. The court found that al

Solicitor Jose Lazaro has been appointed as the new honorary vice-consul of Spain in Belfast. Mr Lazaro, a solicitor and abogado in the corporate and commercial team at MKB Law since 2020, is a qualified Spanish, Irish and UK lawyer, and was the first Spanish lawyer to qualify in Northern Ireland as

Legal bodies have hit back at UK prime minister Boris Johnson's claim that lawyers representing refugees were “abetting the work of criminal gangs” amid attempts to prevent asylum seekers from being removed to Rwanda. The plan to send a man to Rwanda was last night interrupted by a rulin

There are just two days left to apply for the Lord Kerr Scholarship at Queen's University Belfast School of Law. Given in memory of the former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and UK Supreme Court justice, the scholarship is intended to encourage the very best home and international students t

John McShane, partner and head of employment at McCartan Turkington Breen, has completed a gruelling triathlon in aid of charity. The Carrickfergus Castle Triathalon consists of a 750m sea swim, a 20km cycle and ends with a 5km run. Mr McShane undertook a rigorous training regime for several months

The Ministry of Defence has agreed to pay a "significant" sum of money to a number of families of those killed in the Ballymurphy massacre in August 1971. The settlement, announced in the High Court in Belfast yesterday, relates to nine of the 10 people killed in the massacre. Other civil proceeding

Geraldine Hanna has formally taken up the role of commissioner designate for victims of crime for Northern Ireland. Ms Hanna, who has over 21 years’ experience in the victims’ sector in London and in Northern Ireland, took up office yesterday for a three-year term with the potential for

The UK government has pressed ahead with legislation unilaterally rewriting the Northern Ireland Protocol agreed with the EU – in spite of opposition from a majority of Stormont politicians. The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill was published by ministers yesterday alongside a memo on the governm

Controversial legislation overriding parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol will be introduced to Westminster today. The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill will be presented to MPs by foreign secretary Liz Truss this afternoon, though no debate will take place at this stage.

Employment lawyer Paul Gillen has joined Lewis Silkin as a partner in the firm's Belfast office. Mr Gillen joins Lewis Silkin from Pinsent Masons, where he headed the firm’s island of Ireland employment law team.

Northern Ireland's High Court has rejected all grounds of appeal against an extradition warrant to Poland. Although Poland’s courts had a "general systemic deficiency", the court held that this did not create a presumption that the applicant would be denied a fair trial. The applicant, Kamil C

A group of young men, known as the "Derry Four", were coerced into confessing to the murder of a soldier in 1979, an investigation by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has concluded. The watchdog investigated on the foot of complaints from the men, three of whom were aged 17 at the time and