Coronavirus

At least 19 prisoners and a number of staff at Mountjoy Prison have contracted Covid-19 in the biggest outbreak in the Irish prison system to date. The Irish Prison Service (IPS) yesterday confirmed that it had identified 19 cases among prisoners, though the number could rise as tests are ongoing.

In a dramatic U-turn, the US government has signalled its support for waiving intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines and medical tools to help developing countries tackle the global pandemic. The waiver was first proposed by India and South Africa last October in a detailed submissi

Justice should continue to be administered in person after the pandemic, The Bar of Ireland, the Bar Council of Northern Ireland, the Faculty of Advocates and the Bar Council of England and Wales have said. The four bars said in a statement that they recognised "the justice system has undergone chan

The High Court has delivered a further judgment in the landmark FBD case involving publicans claiming insurance cover for losses arising from the pandemic. In this second case, the court outlined that cover would be available for partial closures of the pubs’ premises due to the pandemic, rath

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) held 2,000 fewer adjudication hearings last year than it otherwise would have due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to its annual report for 2020, the WRC held 1,899 adjudication hearings last year, 1,609 of which were face-to-face and 290 which were virtua

The High Court has ruled that a hotel is not covered for losses from the Covid-19 pandemic under a policy of insurance. The court was asked to interpret an AXA policy which provided certain indemnities for closures resulting from specified diseases and sanitary requirements. The plaintiff also argue

The mandatory hotel quarantine system should be suspended if serious human rights issues are not addressed, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has said. Travellers arriving in Ireland from designated states are required by law to pre-book accommodation in a designated quarantine facility,

Legal history was made yesterday morning when the first criminal trial to take place in Croke Park opened before a jury.

The introduction of so-called vaccine passports in Northern Ireland could lead to the introduction of ID cards by the back door, a human rights NGO has warned. The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) states in a detailed briefing that there is an "arguable case" that a vaccine passport

Turnover in the UK legal profession grew to £3.1 billion in February, an 11 per cent year-on-year increase and a four per cent increase on the previous month. The latest Index of Services data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) paints a healthy picture for the legal sector a year int

The High Court has granted the temporary suspension of a doctor from practice due to his actions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The doctor allegedly failed to refer his patients for Covid-19 testing and claimed that he would not administer the vaccine to his patients. Further, the doctor refu

The Supreme Court ended 2020 with its lowest waiting times in memory and no backlog of cases following a year of challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. A case granted leave to appeal today could have a full hearing scheduled as soon as June with waiting times down to a historic low of 14 weeks &

Around 1,200 people have received Irish citizenship since a new temporary citizenship process was established 10 weeks ago. The statutory declaration process established on 18 January replaces the requirement for citizenship applicants to attend citizenship ceremonies, which have been temporarily su

Prison schools are set to reopen next week under the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in prisons. According to the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), teaching staff can now access education centres to undertake preparatory work ahead of the reopening of prison schools from 19 April 2021.

The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) has extended its contract for the use of the International Convention Centre (ICC) as a courts venue for a further three months. The ICC was deployed in January as Northern Ireland’s first “Nightingale venue” to facilitate c