Northern Ireland Court of Appeal

“Gay cake” case may prompt top level legal rethink

Brian Walker on July 12, 2014, 12:05 pm | Readers 2076

The life story of Andrew Muir, the mayor of North Down is part of Northern Ireland’s long journey towards civilisation – including the fact that as an openly gay person he made it to mayor at all. It was his Bangor reception that sparked the Great Cake Discrimination Case. Even so, the case may not be open and shut as it seems. The law is reckoned to be unsatisfactory. There is a legal debate which hinges on whether discrimination is …

Dealing with the Past. Call for at least 300 “miscarriages of justice” to be reviewed

Brian Walker on November 4, 2013, 6:17 pm | Readers 157

A new article in the November edition of the Modern Law Review by Hannah Quirk (£), describes an approach quite different from that of the historians of Arkiv. The article explores the “neglected” area of miscarriages of justice and suggests these may be much more extensive than previously realised. The level of appeals for wrongful convictions was low but is not a reliable indicator of justice served. Ms Quirk quotes a figure of at least 300 such cases which could …