Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland's draft budget, which included controversial cuts to justice funding, has effectively been scrapped in the absence of a first minister and deputy first minister. Finance minister Conor Murphy yesterday told MLAs that legal advice from the Departmental Solicitor's Office (DSO) and th

The Northern Ireland Prison Service has set out its plans to remove most restrictions introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including the reintroduction of in-person contact visits. The six-week "road to recovery" plan sets out what the prison service aims to have in place by Monday 4 Apr

MKB Law has become the first law firm in Northern Ireland to achieve the 2022 GDPR certification for law firms from Briefed. Briefed has created bespoke GDPR training for law firms, meeting all ICO standards, which allows firms to annually certify directors, associates, support staff and trainees at

A Stormont committee has failed to agree on a way forward for a bill of rights for Northern Ireland after nearly two years of work. The ad hoc committee on a bill of rights, established in February 2020, yesterday published its report, based on engagement with a wide range of experts in human rights

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed two applications for judicial review challenging The Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2021. The court found that the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement had not impacted human rights laws involving abortion on the grounds of severe foetal impairment, a

Professor Joan Loughrey has been appointed as head of Queen's University Belfast (QUB) School of Law. She joins QUB from the University of Leeds, where she served as interim head of the school of law from 2020 until 2021. She also served as deputy head of school there from 2013 to 2019, and as direc

Northern Ireland could be stuck with its current Covid-19 restrictions for some time in the absence of a fully-functioning Executive to make decisions on relaxing them, it has emerged. The Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act 2022, which came into force earlier this m

Proposed cuts to Northern Ireland's justice budget would create "legal aid deserts" with access to justice severely curtailed or completely non-existent in many local towns, Stormont's justice committee will be warned today. Representatives from the Law Society and the Bar will tell MLAs that propos

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed a judicial review application where the original proceedings were still ongoing, and where the applicant failed to mount a case for early release or mercy. This was an application for leave to apply for judicial review where the applicant was seeking

Legislation to make decisions taken by Northern Ireland's charity regulator before 2019 lawful has cleared all stages in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Charities Bill was introduced in response to concerns raised by the charity sector following the Court of Appeal's ruling in McKee & Others

Three lawyers have been appointed to Northern Ireland's Civil Legal Services Appeal Panel, which adjudicates appeals against civil legal aid decisions. Séamus McIlroy, a barrister and former solicitor who served as director of legal services for the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland from

Two directors at Cleaver Fulton Rankin have been shortlisted at the Women in Business NI Awards 2022. Kerry McCloy, innovating and legal technology director, has been shortlisted for the 'Outstanding Innovation' award, which recognises an individual that has used entrepreneurial flair and innovation

The Irish M&A market recorded 240 significant transactions in 2021, a 33 per cent rise on 2020 and the highest deal volume since 2006. The William Fry M&A Review 2021, in association with Mergermarket, also found that total M&A value recovered significantly, rising by 185 per cent to &eu

Francis Hanna & Co’s family law partner Claire Edgar presented a talk at the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland event last week entitled “Refusing Contact and Parental Alienation”. The online webinar was hosted by SBNI’s Domestic Violence and Abuse Committee and atte

Mergers and acquisitions activity in Northern Ireland last year rose by 38 per cent to 238 deals, the second largest annual total on Experian record, the business adviser's latest report shows. Belfast law firm Tughans advised on 73 qualifying deals to head up the legal volume table in 2021, wi