Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Executive has distanced itself from claims that First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill endorsed Hong Kong's new national security legislation. The report came after the Stormont leaders participated in a teleconference with China's consul general

Law Centre NI has successfully challenged the decision to withhold bereavement support payment to the family of a woman who was severely disabled due to a progressive degenerative condition. Throughout her working life, Pauline O'Donnell had been unable to work due to severe congenital disabilities

Barrister Johanna Higgins has been reappointed to the Historic Buildings Council (HBC). Ms Higgins, a barrister of the Inner Temple in London who has also been called to The Bar of Northern Ireland and The Bar of Ireland, has served on the HBC since July 2016 and has been reappointed until the end o

Proposals to reform trade union legislation in Northern Ireland for the first time since devolution have gone out to consultation. The Trade Union Freedom Bill, brought forward by People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll, aims to "allow trade unions to strike more efficiently and effectively".

Northern Ireland surveyors expect their workload to continue to decline in the next 12 months, according to a survey conducted by RICS and law firm Tughans. The Q2 2020 RICS & Tughans Construction and Infrastructure market survey results predictably show a contraction in output in Northern Irela

Barristers' chambers Francis Taylor Building has announced the appointment of Professor Gordon Anthony of Queen's University Belfast as an academic tenant. Professor Anthony, an expert in public law and a qualified barrister in Northern Ireland, joins the chambers' academic panel, which aims to "fos

Belfast solicitor Ian Coulter, former head of one of Northern Ireland's largest commercial law firms, has denied fraud offences linked to the sale of NAMA's Northern Ireland property loan book in 2014. The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) yesterday announced that Mr Coulter, 49, and businessman Fran

Justice Minister Naomi Long has backed calls for the UK government to publish three controversial contracts struck with three companies for PPE at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Good Law Project, led by founder Jo Maugham QC, has issued three sets of judicial review proceedings in relation

The number of prisoners released on a temporary basis in Northern Ireland has declined by more than a third over five years, figures show. A total of 666 prisoners were released on a temporary basis on at least one occasion in 2015, but the number has declined in each consecutive year.

Belfast firm Edwards & Co Solicitors has announced the promotion of corporate and charity law specialist Sarah Burrows to partner. Ms Burrows joined the firm as a solicitor last April, having previously served as the head of the charity law team in a large corporate practice.

Commercial law firm Tughans remains the top M&A firm in Northern Ireland by deal count, according to the latest report from Experian Market IQ. There were just 58 transactions in Northern Ireland in the first half of 2020, a 65 per cent decline on the 65 during the same period last year, and Tug

Two retired police officers identified as suspects in fatal shootings during riots in Belfast at the start of the Troubles will not be prosecuted, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has said. Prosecutors examined the deaths of 20-year-old Hugh McCabe, nine-year-old Patrick Rooney and 28-year-old S

A woman has been jailed for nine months after spitting in the face of a key worker at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Belfast woman Pauline Burns, 56, pleaded guilty in Belfast Crown Court to one count of common assault on 4 April 2020.

Barristers Jenny Cunningham BL and Taryn Graham BL have been elected as new co-chairs of the Young Bar Association.

Workers in Northern Ireland who are laid off while furloughed will receive redundancy pay based on their normal wage under new laws being brought in next month. A spokesperson for the Department for the Economy (DfE) confirmed to Irish Legal News today that the changes being brought into effect in E