2 minutes
The Scottish government should introduce a bill on legal aid fees sooner than is currently planned, a Holyrood committee has said. In a pre-budget scrutiny report on the government's justice priorities in 2022-23, the Criminal Justice Committee states that the "failure to address the problems with f
3 minutes
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has denied suggestions it may have altered court statistics to make it "appear as if we are getting through the backlog". Criminal defence solicitor Euan Gosney tweeted on November 19 that there "were approx 60+ summary trials in Edinburgh Sheriff Cou
2 minutes
Dame Elish Angiolini QC has been appointed as chair of an inquiry into the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens. The inquiry will establish an account of Mr Couzens' conduct throughout his career, noting any red flags prior to the murder. The second part will look at issu
1 minute
Professor Raphael Heffron has been named the new dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of the West Indies St. Augustine in Trinidad & Tobago. Professor Heffron was formerly professor for global energy law & sustainability at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law & Polic
3 minutes
Legal experts at the University of Stirling have launched a new study to ensure that consumer laws are as ‘smart’ as the emerging technologies that they regulate. The rapidly growing ‘Internet of Things’ – a network of connected objects such as cars, wearables, smart sp
2 minutes
Councils will be given powers to ensure short-term lets are safe and meet the needs of their local communities under legislation laid before the Scottish Parliament. Under the legislation, all local authorities will be required to establish a short-term lets licensing scheme by October 2022. Existin
1 minute
Trainee solicitor Lauren Bowie, founder of Legable, has been named as one of Young Women Scotland’s 30 under 30. She is also a mentor, a LawScot Foundation fundraising committee member and is passionate about improving social mobility and diversity in the legal profession.
1 minute
Seven more convictions of former subpostmasters linked to a flawed Post Office computer system have been overturned. Subpostmasters were victims of a scandal which saw the Post Office use its private prosecution powers over a 15-year period from 2000 onwards to prosecute and convict them of crimes.
1 minute
Actor Kevin Spacey has been ordered to pay a production company more than $30 million for breach of contract. An arbitrator ruled that sexual misconduct scandals surrounding the actor meant he fell foul of his contract and had to pay the production firm behind the Netflix show House of Cards, in whi
1 minute
SCTS and COPFS would find it difficult to jointly organise a drinking session in a brewery.
1 minute
Prosecutors would find it harder to use rap lyrics as evidence of alleged crimes under legislation proposed in New York. Two members of the New York State Senate have proposed a bill following controversy over the conviction of rappers in trials where their lyrics were used as evidence.
4 minutes
The UK government must address ethical, legal, logistical and political challenges arising from new border checks due to launch next year that will affect UK residents travelling to the EU, according to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee. In a letter to the Home Secretary, the com
2 minutes
Scotland is to introduce 'sobriety tags' for offenders who commit alcohol-fuelled crimes. Offenders guilty of such crimes will have to wear the tags upon their release. The devices will trigger an alarm if the wearer has a drink during their probation period.
2 minutes
New homes and buildings such as supermarkets and workplaces, as well as those undergoing major renovation, will be required to install electric vehicle charge points from next year, under new UK government legislation announced today. Up to 145,000 extra charge points will be installed across Englan
2 minutes
Thompsons Solicitors has announced the appointment of Craig Snee to the role of senior solicitor in its Dundee office. Mr Snee was attracted to Thompsons because of the firm's commitment to social justice, as exemplified by its close work with the trade union movement.
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