Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland will not follow New Zealand in providing parental bereavement leave and pay for couples following a miscarriage. MPs in New Zealand this week approved legislation which will make the country one of only two in the world to provide paid leave in the event of miscarriages and stillbir

Belfast firm Millar McCall Wylie has welcomed two new trainee solicitors, bringing its total to eight within the last two years.

Proposals to introduce a statutory duty of candour in the healthcare system will go out to consultation next month. Health Minister Robin Swann yesterday told MLAs that a 16-week public consultation would open on Monday 12 April 2021.

Legislation banning the likes of teachers and social workers from having sex with under-18s in their care is set to be extended to cover sports coaches and faith leaders. Justice Minister Naomi Long yesterday announced plans to bring an amendment to the Justice (Miscellaneous) Provisions Bill later

Plans to modernise the civil and family justice system over the next year have been set out by Justice Minister Naomi Long. Speaking in Stormont this morning, Mrs Long said she would take forward changes before the next election to make the civil and family justice system "more accessible for citize

Mr Justice Michael Humphreys has been appointed as deputy chairman of the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. The Boundary Commission is an independent and impartial public body which reviews UK Parliament constituency boundaries in Northern Ireland in line with the Parliamentary Constituencie

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has laid regulations in Westminster giving him the power to direct Stormont to commission abortion services. The Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2021 will come into force on 31 March 2021 and will allow Mr Lewis to direct Northern Ireland ministers, d

Trainee solicitors Rebecca Lucas and Robert Bellingham of the Institute for Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) have triumphed in the Northern Ireland heat of the Client Consultation Competition. Ms Lucas, who trains with McQueenie Boyle Solicitors, and Mr Bellingham, of Tughans, will now go on to com

The UK government will intervene to commission abortion services in Northern Ireland following Health Minister Robin Swann's failure to do so, according to reports. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis is this week expected to introduce regulations which will give him the power to direct the com

A survivor of abuse at Rathgael and Lisnevin Training Schools has launched the first judicial review challenge against the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) redress board. KRW LAW LLP has lodged an application for judicial review with the High Court on behalf of Cyril Glass, a leader of the Survi

A £15 million plan to develop part of Belfast’s Crumlin Road Gaol into a whisky distillery has been given the go-ahead by Belfast City Council. Its planning committee approved the application, which will also see part of the old prison's 'A' wing transformed into a tourist centre, the Be

Committal proceedings against a former soldier charged with murder on Bloody Sunday began yesterday in Derry. Soldier F is accused of the murder of James Wray and William McKinney, on January 30th, 1972, when British troops fired on civil rights demonstrators, killing 13 people.

The search for the next Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland has begun in advance of Sir Declan Morgan's retirement later this year. Sir Declan, who assumed the top judicial post in 2009, will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 in January 2022.

Belfast-based Ó Muirigh Solicitors has announced the appointment of Niall Bradley as a solicitor. Mr Bradley brings over eight years' experience working in a law firm specialising in defence insurance litigation. He has acted for a number of market-leading national and international insurance

Proposals to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Northern Ireland from 10 to at least 12 have not progressed due to "a lack of political support", Justice Minister Naomi Long has said. Mrs Long yesterday gave a update on the implementation of the 31 recommendations of the 2011 Youth Justice