News

Judge retires

ONE of Northern Ireland's most senior judges is retiring after a 46-year legal career stretching back to the earliest days of the Troubles.

Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan said Lord Justice Malachy Higgins has made an invaluable contribution to the legal community.

Sir Malachy has taken "meticulous and comprehensive" notes of all his cases, including his years as a barrister practising at Belfast's old Crumlin Road courthouse, he told a gathering of lawyers.

Those notes have provided an "historical treasure trove" in a series of appeals against convictions from the seventies and eights, Sir Declan said.

After taking up his first judicial post in 1988 Sir Malachy advanced to become senior Lord Justice of Appeal in 2008.