New Court rules permit media access to previously restricted records under Data Protection legislation
New court rules were introduced on 1 August 2018 in all courts which will allow the media access to certain court records. The rules give effect to Section 159 (7) of the newly enacted Data Protectio...
New regulation requires whistleblowers to prove their disclosure was motivated by a general public interest concern
The new European Union (Protection of Trade Secrets) Regulation 2018 (the Regulation) introduces a radical change in law for whistleblowers in Ireland. The Regulation came into operation on 9 June 20...
Latest Annual Report under Regulation of Lobbying Act published
The Standards in Public Office Commission (the Commission) has published its Annual Report 2017 under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 (the Act). The Act, most of which came into force in Septembe...
Court of Appeal suggests alternatives to extensive discovery requests
In a recent Court of Appeal decision, Mr Justice Hogan (Hogan J) highlighted the difficulties with the current rules and practice of discovery in litigation. He noted that a process, which was designe...
Government announces designation of the first Technological University in Ireland
An Taoiseach, the Minister for Education and Skills, the Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister of State for Higher Education have announced that the application by DIT, ...
Supreme Court rules a jury may assess damages following an offer of amends in defamation proceedings
In a recent Supreme Court decision, Ms Justice Dunne held that a plaintiff is entitled to have damages assessed by a jury in defamation proceedings where an offer of amends has been made by a defendan...
Tackling the Housing Crisis at the heart of the Project Ireland 2040
Partner, Fidelma McManus, recently wrote an article for Council Review Magazine on Project Ireland 2040. Check out the article by picking up a copy of the magazine or reading the below. Tackling the ...
A constitutional right to adequate housing?
The United Nations (the UN) Special Rapporteur for adequate housing, Leilani Farha has recently called on Ireland to make the right to housing a constitutional right or to take legislative action to a...
Court finds plaintiff is unable to recover full costs of proceedings due to failure to accept settlement offers
A recent decision by the High Court has found that litigants may be unable to recover the full costs of proceedings if they have previously failed to accept settlement offers from the losing party. T...
ICOs part 2 – looking at the regulatory framework for Initial Coin Offerings
While there are no regulations specific to ICOs, existing legislation and regulatory framework may apply to an ICO. Each case is different and needs to be considered on its own facts and circumstances...
ICOs part 1 - Initial Coin Offerings Explained
According to the digital currency site CoinDesk, more than US$2billion was raised in initial coin offerings (ICO) in 2017 and the trend is expected to continue. This is the first of two articles look...
English High Court holds that tenderer who received ‘fail’ score should not have been excluded
The English High Court has ruled that a tenderer who received a ‘fail’ score should not have been excluded from the procurement process where the invitation to tender (ITT) did not clearly specify tha...
English High Court refuses to lift automatic suspension where other services provided by incumbent would be impacted by suspension
The English High Court has refused to lift the automatic suspension of a contract for public health and nursing services, including mental health services for children (Services). It held that damage...
Summary judgment – A bald assertion is not enough to avoid judgment
Summary proceedings are initiated where a claim is for a liquidated sum or a set figure. The test for a summary judgment application to succeed was identified in Aer Rianta v. Ryanair [2001] 4 I.R. 6...
Judicial review – engaging common sense to avoid absurd results
The recent appeal brought by Mr Michael Fingleton against the Central Bank of Ireland in judicial review proceedings provided an interesting insight into the interpretation of a provision of the Centr...