Northern Ireland

Legislation to enhance and update the legal framework for adoption will be introduced to the Northern Ireland Assembly after the summer recess. The Adoption and Children Bill aims to remove unnecessary delay and uncertainty for children by bringing Northern Ireland in line with the changes made in t

Criminologist Phil Scraton, professor emeritus at Queen's University Belfast School of Law, has joined a distinguished team of patrons of Include Youth, a rights-based charity working with young people. The team of six patrons, which include some of Northern Ireland's top athletes, will work closely

The latest edition of Folio, the conveyancing and land law journal from the Law Society of Northern Ireland, has been published. The first volume of 2021 includes pieces on drafting leases, the regulation of housing associations and issues affecting the agricultural property sector.

Northern Ireland's Department of Health has been directed to commission and make abortion services available as soon as possible and no later than 31 March 2022. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis yesterday issued the direction using his powers under the Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations

The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has identified "significant investigative failures" and "collusive behaviours" by the police in relation to the murder of Damien Walsh. Mr Walsh was shot dead at the Dairy Farm complex in west Belfast on 25 March 1993 by members of the UDA/UFF but no one has

The Northern Ireland Assembly has unanimously rejected deeply controversial UK government proposals to end all criminal prosecutions linked to the Troubles. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis last week set out the government's proposal for a "statute of limitations" which would prevent the pro

Retired Belfast solicitor John Boston has passed away, the Law Society of Northern Ireland has announced. Mr Boston qualified as a solicitor in 1947 and was a principal in John Boston & Co Solicitors until his retirement in May 2003.

A pre-action letter from Belfast firm KRW LAW LLP precipitated the resignation of the entire board of the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) last summer, according to a report. An independent review published yesterday identifies the pandemic and the speed of decision-making in the

Colm Crothers has been named the first-ever Ulster University student to be awarded the Neuberger Prize. Lincoln's Inn provides funding for the Neuberger Prize, which was set up in 2015 and is an annual award for undergraduate students who are about to start their final year of a qualifying law degr

A former Northern Ireland solicitor's details are being used as part of an employment scam targeting the UK health sector, the PSNI has warned. The Law Society of Northern Ireland has circulated a report from the PSNI Cyber Crime Centre, which said it has been made aware of the use of details and cr

An investigative journalist has taken the PSNI to a tribunal over its refusal to release a secret review of Special Branch strategy compiled at the height of the Troubles. The dossier was drawn up in 1973 when officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary’s Special Branch are known to have been

New employment figures show a "positive momentum" for employment levels in Northern Ireland, an employment law expert has said. The June Labour Market Report for Northern Ireland was issued yesterday by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

All criminal prosecutions linked to killings during the Troubles would be brought to an end under deeply controversial proposals announced by the UK government yesterday. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis yesterday told MPs that the government wants to introduce a "statute of limitations, to

Matthew Howse, partner at Eversheds Sutherland in Belfast, considers whether resort to litigation will become more common again as we move into the post-Covid world. Back in March 2020, the pandemic brought a halt to all but the most urgent legal proceedings in the Northern Irish courts. Courts had

The former British soldier charged with the murder of James Wray and William McKinney, and the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O’Donnell, has been named in Westminster.