Northern Ireland

A high-profile legal challenge to the liberalisation of Northern Ireland's abortion laws, spearheaded by former Attorney General John Larkin QC, has begun in the High Court. Mr Larkin is acting on behalf of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) in an application for judicial revie

Amanda Stewart has taken up the reins of the Probation Board for Northern Ireland as its chief executive with effect from today. Ms Stewart previously worked for the Policing Board since its inception and has a wide range of experience across Probation's responsibilities, including policing with the

Northern Ireland's High Court has dismissed an application to strip away a father’s parental responsibility towards his daughter despite evidence of domestic and sexual abuse towards her mother in the child's presence. An application was brought by the child, RE’s, mother under Article 7

The end of the stamp duty holiday is not dampening activity in Northern Ireland's housing market, according to a Belfast solicitor. Janet Williamson, director of commercial and property at O'Reilly Stewart Solicitors, said her team was working on around 30 completions this week ahead of the stamp du

Belfast-based Cleaver Fulton Rankin has welcomed three newly-qualified solicitors following their completion of the firm's trainee solicitor programme. Brendan Tabb, Christopher Bew and Ruaidhri Groom have each completed the two-year training programme, which develops skills across a wide range of l

A new state-of-the-art meeting space at Law Society House has been officially opened by justice minister Naomi Long at an event attended by the new Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. The meeting space can accommodate meetings, mediations, seminars and negotiations, with break-out areas and high

The first changes from legislation delivering the most significant update to liquor licensing laws in Northern Ireland since 1996 will come into effect from tomorrow. The Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2021 will be commenced in phases over the next few years,

Belfast-based MKB Law has announced the appointment of Jonathan Jackson as a director and shareholder.

Professor Siobhán Wills has been named as the next director of the Transitional Justice Institute (TJI) at Ulster University. An internationally-recognised researcher on peacekeeping, international and human rights law, Professor Wills will take over as director from 1 October 2021.

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) failed to comply with its approved equality scheme while developing legislation to address the legacy of the past, the Equality Commission has found following an investigation. An investigation was launched after the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ)

Judicial salaries in Northern Ireland and across the UK have been frozen for a year, new figures from the Ministry of Justice show. The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Declan Morgan, received a salary of £234,184 in 2019. This rose to £238,868 last year but has remained the s

Belfast lawyer Linda Johnston, private client partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, has announced her retirement after 38 years in legal practice. Ms Johnston first joined Francis Hanna & Co in 1983 as a newly-qualified solicitor in the property law department. By 1988, she had become th

The late Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore "embodied" the case for always having a judge from Northern Ireland on the Supreme Court bench, Lady Hale has said. The former Supreme Court president reflected on the importance of the court having judges from all parts of the United Kingdom as she addressed a virtu

Northern Ireland's Department of Justice has no figures on the number of cases dismissed at court as a result of errors in warrants or improperly completed warrants. In response to a parliamentary question, justice minister Naomi Long said: "Departmental datasets do not hold information in relation

Strategic planning policy on oil and gas development in Northern Ireland is set to be reviewed to ensure it "remains appropriate in the context of the climate emergency". Infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon said the review will include consideration of unconventional hydrocarbon development, comm