Northern Ireland

A charity is helping imprisoned dads at Hydebank Wood College deliver a special Christmas gift to their children this year. Personal recordings of Bible stories read by the dads, along with an illustrated storybook for them to follow the reading, will form part of a Christmas toy parcel and food ham

The collapse of Stormont has left outstanding human rights issues to "drift indefinitely", the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has said. The commission's 2019 annual statement warns that there has been "no progress" over the course of the year on "substantial, lengthy and broad-base

Pupils at Thornhill College have won the Derry regional heat of the annual Bar Mock Trial Competition.

Belfast-based Millar McCall Wylie (MMW) has announced a sponsorship deal with Ulster hockey’s most prestigious male competition. The firm will sponsor the final of this year's Kirk Cup on Boxing Day, which will see title holders Banbridge face Lisnagarvey at Stormont, as well as the 2020 compe

The Royal Courts of Justice was packed out for the Pro Bono Choir's annual Christmas concert.

The prosecution of a woman who bought abortion pills for her teenage daughter did not breach human rights laws, the High Court in Belfast has ruled. The woman was charged with two counts of unlawfully procuring and supplying the abortion drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, with intent to procure a

Six new criminal justice commissioners have been appointed to the Parole Commissioners for Northern Ireland. The Department of Justice announced the appointments alongside that of Paul Mageean as chief commissioner and 34 serving commissioners for a further term of office.

Greg Berry QC has been reappointed as a governor of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. The senior barrister, who called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1990 and became a Queen's Counsel in 2006, was first appointed to the role by the Department of Communities in 2011.

Staff and clients from Carson McDowell raised more than £50,000 for Cancer Fund for Children at their recent Strictly-themed dance event. Over 600 people attended the "Carson McDowell Does Strictly" event, modelled on the hit TV show Strictly Come Dancing, at La Mon Hotel and Country Club.

Scottish lawyer Justin D'Agostino has been appointed as Herbert Smith Freehills' new chief executive officer. The appointment by the firm's council, approved by partnership vote, will take effect from 1 May 2020 for a term of four years. Mr D'Agostino will succeed Mark Rigotti, who has served two te

International law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has announced a £2 million five-year partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The firm's partnership with MSF began in Australia and now includes the Belfast office as well as its teams in London, Johannesburg, Hong Kong and

Graham Pierce, partner and head of commercial property at Worthingtons Solicitors in Belfast, examines the law on signage in Northern Ireland. A tenant of commercial premises will normally expect to display signs at or near his premises indicating the name and nature of his business and any promotio

People with social security debt should be told about the discretionary waiver which allows it to be written off, the Law Centre NI has said. There has been 3,546 cases of overpayment of Universal Credit since its 2017 roll-out but the discretionary waiver has only been used three times, according t

Judges and lawyers attended Law Society House on Friday for the launch of a new book by barrister and former academic Katie Quinn and solicitor advocate Charlene Dempsey. Bail Law and Practice in Northern Ireland, published by the Law Society of Northern Ireland, outlines the many powers of the poli

The Bar of Northern Ireland's charity committee is accepting nominations for its next Charity of the Year. The committee runs fundraising activities throughout the year for its chosen charity, which is currently Helping Hand, the charity to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.