Northern Ireland

A district judge in Northern Ireland who openly questioned why buying sex is a criminal offence but selling sex is not will now receive "specific guidance" on the issue. The comments made by Judge Ted Magill during a criminal trial were "inappropriate", the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, agr

Human rights "do not take a back seat during public emergencies", the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has said following a year of little progress on key rights issues. Launching its latest annual statement in a virtual event, the rights watchdog said there had been progress on some fronts

More gay and bisexual men will be eligible to donate blood in Northern Ireland following a further relaxation of the law. Until 2016, men who have had sex with other men were banned for life from donating blood in Northern Ireland.

Personal injury lawyers have launched legal action against Northern Ireland's Department of Justice (DOJ) over its decision not to set an interim personal injury discount rate pending legislation to introduce a new mechanism for setting the rate. The Department ran a consultation this summer on how

Two judicial review applications brought over the length of NHS waiting lists in Northern Ireland are set to be heard by the High Court in Belfast early next year. Solicitor Ciaran O'Hare of McIvor Farrell Solicitors is representing litigants May Kitchen and Eileen Wilson in the cases concerning "in

No prisoners will benefit from temporary release for Christmas this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Justice Minister Naomi Long has announced. In-person prison visits will be re-introduced over the holiday season, but the Christmas home leave scheme has been put "on pause".

Domestic homicide reviews (DHRs) have been introduced in Northern Ireland with the appointment of three independent chairs. Justice Minister Naomi Long today named Nina Noddings, Jan Melia and Anne Marks as the independent chairs leading reviews.

Belfast-based Cleaver Fulton Rankin has advised the Northern Regional College (NRC) on the development of a new state-of-the-art campus. The £40 million campus in Coleraine forms part of a wider £85 million capital investment programme funded by the Department for the Economy.

Two legal academics from Queen's University Belfast have joined a ground-breaking four-year oral history project focused on the Law Centres movement. The Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS) at the University of Oxford has been awarded a £1 million research grant from the AHRC to undertake th

Landmark domestic abuse legislation has been delayed by Justice Minister Naomi Long due to a row over legal aid and is no longer expected to become law by the end of the year. The Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill was due to be debated at the further consideration stage by MLAs yesterday bu

The practising certificate renewal process will be moved entirely online for 2021, the Law Society of Ireland has announced. The move was "necessitated by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the need to ensure a timely and efficient PC renewal process", solicitors were told in the latest president's b

Cleaver Fulton Rankin has announced the promotion of five lawyers across a number of its key practice areas. Conor McCrory has been promoted to associate director in the business and private immigration team, while Nathan Campbell and Shane Conlon have been promoted to associate solicitors in the em

Shoosmiths has announced the appointment of M&A specialist Mark Davis as a partner in Belfast. Mr Davis has significant experience in the private equity sector, having worked with a range of clients, including multinational corporates, private equity funds and the offices of wealthy internationa

Proposals to introduce new domestic abuse protection notices and orders (DAPNs and DAPOs) in Northern Ireland have been set out in a new consultation document. The new mechanisms are being proposed as a replacement for the domestic violence protection notices and orders (DVPNs and DVPOs) which were

Judges will decide on Wednesday whether a judicial review centred on whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson acted in bad faith by signing the Brexit deal can go ahead. The proceedings have been brought by an anonymous litigant who lives near the border and seeks a court declaration that Mr Johnson sig