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A new Scottish government drugs strategy focuses on treating the problem as a public health issue instead of a criminal justice one. Public health minister Joe FitzPatrick said he combined the drug and alcohol misuse strategies because of their common solutions.

The Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC has welcomed the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland report on the prosecution of young people and has instructed work in response to its recommendations. Mr Wolffe said: “Earlier this year I commissioned the Inspectorate of Prosecution to revie

Lord Sumption has warned that a functioning justice system is "not discretionary" but is "fundamental to the existence of the state and to our existence as a civil society", and described the public's scepticism towards the presumption of innocence as a "travesty". The Supreme Court justice, who wil

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has welcomed a report from a Holyrood committee on the steps the Scottish Parliament can take in order to become a better human rights guarantor. Commenting on the Equalities and Human Rights Committee report, Judith Robertson, chair of the commiss

Judges in courts across Scotland will from today have to take into account a sentencing guideline when sentencing offenders. The principles and purposes of the sentencing guideline were approved by the High Court of Justiciary on 30 October and it applies to all offenders who are sentenced on o

An independent review into allegations of a bullying culture at NHS Highland will be conducted by John Sturrock QC. Health Secretary Jeane Freeman had previously announced plans for an independent review to look into the allegations that were raised in September.

Morton Fraser is growing its medical negligence team with the appointment of senior solicitor Derek Couper. Mr Couper who has a breadth of experience in dealing with medical negligence cases and also specialises in birth injury and fatal cases is joining Morton Fraser from the medical negligence tea

Scotland’s prosecutors have begun training in preparation for the coming into force of new domestic abuse legislation next year. The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 creates a new offence of "abusive behaviour in relation to a partner or ex-partner" where physical and sexual violence, psycho

As readers will no doubt be aware, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has applied from 25 May 2018. Six months on, Daradjeet Jagpal carries out an initial appraisal of four key aspects of the GDPR and provides his thoughts on what lies ahead. Transparency

Humanists have written to Scottish government secretaries Aileen Campbell and Humza Yousaf to call for Scotland’s common law offence against blasphemy to be dropped in forthcoming legislation covering hate crime. A letter from Humanist Society Scotland calls the retention of the common la

A new expert group will begin work within weeks to improve support, advice and information for complainers and victims, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has announced. The Victims Taskforce will meet on 12 December for the first time.

An independent expert review of mental health and other support for young people entering HM Prison & Young Offenders Institute Polmont is being established. A mental health expert will work with the independent HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland and others to review mental health provision

The celebrated US attorney, David Rudolf, has thanked the Scottish Criminal Bar Association for a “great” evening of discussion. Mr Rudolf was the guest at a special event in Glasgow and gave a talk about the case of Michael Peterson, a novelist in North Carolina who was accused of murde

A new report exploring why there is a lack of strategic court action by NGOs in Scotland and suggesting recommendations to address this has been published. Overcoming Barriers to Public Interest Litigation in Scotland suggests key barriers are: poor access to information about court cases; limitatio

Community ownership should become a normal option for the acquisition of land and assets, according to a report from the Scottish Land Commission. The report, which follows a review of existing community right to buy mechanisms and community ownership in Scotland, makes a number of recommendations t