Northern Ireland

LawPod

A podcast created by Dr Rachel Kellean and Richard Summerville from Queen’s University Belfast. Posted at intervals ranging from monthly to weekly, the episodes are hosted by staff and students, each focusing on a different legal issue or concept, often featuring academic or professional guests. Whilst solely audio-based, with no transcript available, the archive tab lists the episodes with accompanying notes, and occasionally relevant blog posts. The blog offers additional insight into some of the topics covered in the podcast episodes.

Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland

Website of the Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland (LSANI), an executive agency within the Department of Justice, which has responsibility for the administration of legal aid in Northern Ireland. There is information about the work of LSANI and members of the LSANI Board and guidance on accessing legal aid aimed at the public. The section aimed at the legal profession provides legislation, Department of Justice Directions and LSANI guidance. There is also guidance on using the digital Legal Aid Management System (LAMS).

Judiciary NI

Official website of the Northern Ireland judiciary. The site lists members of the judiciary and provides information on the court structure in Northern Ireland. There are sections on the Judicial Studies Board which oversees training for judges and on legacy litigation and inquests arising out of the conflict in Northern Ireland. A database of full text court and tribunal decisions and directions can be browsed by type, date or judge or searched by keyword. Publications can also be viewed including sentencing guidelines, press releases and bench books.

Northern Ireland Official Publications Archive

The Northern Ireland Official Publications Archive (NIOPA) is hosted by Queen's University Belfast. The library at Queen’s is a depository for printed official publications and, since 2015, has focused on the creation of a digital archive of Northern Ireland official publications covering current and previous ministerial departments, independent bodies and other organisations. There’s a description of each department along with their associated agencies and a list of the publications collected. Full text documents are presented in PDF.

Northern Ireland Local Government Commissioner for Standards

The Northern Ireland Local Government Commissioner for Standards investigates complaints that a councillor has failed to comply with the Northern Ireland Local Government Code of Conduct for Councillors (which sets out the principles and rules of conduct which councillors must observe). The site has guidance aimed at the public on making a complaint and for councillors on the complaints procedure. Details of past and forthcoming Adjudication Hearings are given on the site along with decisions.

Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO)

The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) provides a complaints service for members of the public dealing with organisations including government departments and agencies, councils, public housing providers and Health and Social Care Trusts. There is guidance aimed at the public on making a complaint and NIPSO service standards and guidance for public authorities on handling complaints and issuing apologies. A selection of summaries of cases dealt with by NIPSO is given in the online Annual Reports dating from 2012-13.

BrexitLawNI

BrexitLawNI is a collaborative research project between the law schools of Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University and the Committee on the Administration of Justice, a human rights organisation based in Belfast. The project is looking at the legal and constitutional elements of Brexit as they relate to Northern Ireland and background information is given for the key themes. These include the peace process, relations between the North and South of Ireland, border controls and free movement and equality and human rights issues.

Stamp duty and other tax on property

A comprehensive guide to stamp duty land tax (SDLT), available on the UK Government website. SDLT is payable on property sales and purchases above a certain value, depending on the property type and use. There is a full guide to SDLT, including how to pay it and when it applies, and forms regarding SDLT are also provided. The site also includes information on annual tax for enveloped dwellings, a different type of property tax applicable to residential dwellings.

Devolution Matters

Blog by Alan Trench, Professor of Politics at the University of Ulster, about devolution in the UK. Includes numerous posts on the Scottish independence referendum of 2014. Provides a briefing called ‘Devolution: the basics’ as well as information about the West Lothian Question, the Barnett Formula and the Sewel Convention. The blog features Trench’s Twitter feed and also offers RSS feeds for new blog posts and comments.

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