The emphasis of the prizes is on written or broadcast media that has contributed to public awareness and education about the function of law in society.

Killian Woods from the Business Post was victorious overall with his series titled 'Planning and the Courts - The consequences from the State's effort to confront judicial scrutiny of development projects'.

Prime Time, an RTÉ current affairs programme, took home three honours.

For “Lifers,” written by Sallyanne Godson, Barry Cummins, and Sean Mooney, it won the Broadcast Journalism (TV-Video) category prize.

The study “was an informative explainer on the realities of imprisonment in Ireland,” according to the judges.

“It contained insightful commentary from legal professionals and provided a fair examination of jail terms. They declared that the report was both instructive and fascinating.”

Conor Hunt of RTÉ News, who covered the Stardust inquests, was awarded a merit certificate in the same area.

For their report on "Nora," written by Barry Cummins and Brídóg Ní Bhuachalla, Prime Time was also awarded in the Court Reporting (Broadcast) category.

The 1981 murder of Nora Sheehan in Cork was investigated as a cold case.

Noel Long, residing in Maulbawn, Passage West, County Cork, was convicted of killing Ms. Sheehan the previous year.

The report, according to the judges, “highlighted the advances in forensic science to aid in a long-overdue conviction.”

“This work was selected because of its potent narrative. It demonstrated how murders can still be solved using cutting-edge science and technology and justice can still be carried out, even after a significant length of time has passed,” they continued.

Its third prize was for “Surrogacy: An Irish Solution to an International Problem” in the Human Rights/Social Rights/Social Justice Reporting (Broadcast) category.

The authors of the paper, Sallyanne Godson, Sarah McInerney, and Martin Vale, looked into worries that rules pertaining to surrogacy would force intending parents to become pregnant.

“This was a really well-done and heartfelt study of the challenges Irish families faced with surrogate children face. It was instructive and pertinent, emphasising the significance of crafting a thoughtful legislation and defending human rights in this domain,” the justices declared.

Evelyn O'Rourke and Niamh Lyons' story on the Children's Court won the prize in the Broadcast Journalism (Radio-National) category today on RTÉ Radio One with Claire Byrne.

The judges said that the piece “was brilliant reporting which explored the Children Courts system” when they presented the prize.

“Contributions from the judiciary and court reporting from in-camera proceedings gave a real insight into the experiences of different court-users and underage offenders,” they stated.