Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Assembly has dissolved ahead of elections on Thursday 5 May 2022. The final sitting of the Assembly last week saw a raft of private member's bills complete their final stage, including the Period Products (Free Provision) Bill, the Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Bill, the Hospital

Northern Ireland's High Court has found that the Attorney General had applied the wrong test in assessing whether a fresh inquest should be granted into the British Army killing of Thomas Aquinas Burns. Leave to judicially review his decision was granted where it was found that the Attorney General

Carson McDowell has been awarded the Bronze Diversity Charter Mark in recognition of its ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion within the workplace. The Diversity Charter Mark is awarded to companies following an independent panel assessment. It is a ‘mark of progress’ that publi

A written statement issued yesterday from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland sets out that the UK government is preparing regulations to directly commission abortion services in Northern Ireland if progress is not made directly following the Assembly elections in May. This follows a previou

An ongoing smear campaign against human rights lawyer Colin Harvey threatens academic freedom in Northern Ireland and has the potential to spark physical violence, UN human rights experts have said. Since 2019, Professor Harvey, former commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, ha

Belfast-based MKB Law has donated 100 trees to Inver College in Carrickmacross, Monaghan as part of a new tree planting initiative operated by Restorify. Restorify is a social enterprise platform that connects tree donors with available land across Ireland.

Law firms in Northern Ireland should take action to address gender imbalance at a partner level, the Law Society has said, with women holding just three out of every 10 partner positions in private practice. Brigid Napier, the 10th woman to hold the position of Law Society president in its 100-year

Northern Ireland's High Court has awarded costs against the Home Office where their unexplained delay in issuing a visa forced the applicant to bring proceedings. The court found that the applicant was justified in issuing the proceedings, despite the fact that her visa arrived five days after threa

Northern Ireland's Court of Appeal has ordered prosecutors to reconsider the decision to discontinue the prosecution of Soldier F for the murder of William McKinney on Bloody Sunday in 1972. While quashing the decision of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to discontinue the prosecution of Soldier

Northern Ireland's Department of Justice has launched a new strategy to support women and girls in contact with the justice system. The "Supporting Change" strategy, which covers the period from 2022 to 2029, focuses on women and girls who are at risk of offending or who have offended, and seeks to

Nine inquests will be listed in the third year of Northern Ireland's five-year plan to clear the entire backlog of Troubles-era cases, the presiding coroner has announced. Mr Justice Humphreys conducted a review of all legacy inquests where a coroner has not yet been appointed at the end of February

A new strategic framework for youth justice in Northern Ireland has identified a consultation on increasing the age of criminal responsibility – currently just 10 years old – as a priority issue. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) recommends that the age of criminal resp

The personal injury discount rate in Northern Ireland has been set to -1.5 per cent following the first review under the new legislative framework established this year. The review, which has been welcomed by personal injury lawyers, was carried out by the government actuary under the methodology pr

Northern Ireland's High Court has found that it still had jurisdiction to hear an application for a care order in respect of an eight-month-old child who was sent to live with his maternal grandfather south of the border. The child was sent away by his mother after she became aware that a social car

Developers in Northern Ireland will again be required to hold a public event as part of the pre-application process for major planning applications following the expiration of the temporary suspension. The requirement, which has been suspended since 1 May 2020, will be reinstated for proposed of app