Proposals have been lodged to fix the façade of Ayr Sheriff Court due to the “immediate risk” of falling masonry. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has made an application to South Ayrshire Council for permission to undertake alterations to the Wellington Square building.
Search: Scottish syndicate purchased land 1901 for £5000
More than 60 new Scottish solicitors were formally welcomed to the profession at an admissions ceremony held at the Signet Library in Edinburgh last week.
Millions of pounds are being wasted on unnecessary court appearances by police officers as it emerged that in one case they were summoned to give evidence against a dead man. The Scottish Police Federation said that 750 officers in northern Scotland have been cited since January, yet only 26 gave ev
A better solution is needed to deal with solicitors who fail to co-operate with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC), the body has said. The Inner House of the Court of Session last week stopped short of finding a practitioner in contempt of court after three hearings and a proof relating
A £33 million Scottish government initiative for sharing digital evidence from crime scene to court room is being rolled out across Scotland. Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) allows police officers, prosecutors, defence lawyers, court staff and judges to access a secure, unified syst
Two appeals by the trustees of the Eighth Earl Cadogan’s 1961 Settlement Trust against decisions of the Scottish Land Court relating to disputes against the joint tenants of a farm in Perthshire, under which the trust held the landlord’s interest, have been refused by the Court of Sessio
New PEO rules still fall foul of the Aarhus Convention, writes Ben Christman. The Scottish Civil Justice Council (SCJC) published an amendment to Scotland’s Protective Expenses Order (PEO) rules on 28 June 2024. This amendment followed repeated criticism of the cost of litigation over th
Scottish Gaelic is in a "perilous state" according to a new report by the Scottish Parliament's Education, Children and Young People Committee. The report details reservations about the practical impact of the Scottish Languages Bill, which aims to support Scotland's indigenous languages. The commit
Deaths in custody, segregation and mental health are among the areas of concern in prisons and forensic mental health settings in Scotland, according to a new report. The Scottish Human Rights Commission and UK National Preventive Mechanism joint report concludes that little progress has been made a
A Scottish appeal court decision on time bar should provide a stark warning for the construction sector, argues Michael Collins. Five years. That’s how long a party has to make a claim for damages under the Scottish law of prescription (time bar). But when, exactly, does that clock s
The family of a prisoner who died in prison has raised a court action against the Scottish Prison Service, Police Scotland and the Crown Office. Allan Marshall died in March 2015 at the age of 30, following restraint by a total of 17 prison officers in HMP Edinburgh (Saughton). Mr Marshall expe
Under-18s will no longer be kept in young offenders institutions from the week beginning 2 September, the Scottish government has confirmed. The announcement comes in the wake of the death of Jonathan Beadle in Polmont Young Offenders Institution on Saturday 13 July.
The Law Society of Scotland has launched a guide to help improve disability and neurodiversity inclusion across the Scottish legal profession. The guide offers practical information and advice on how organisations can embed disability and neurodiversity inclusion in their processes and procedures, a
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has launched new guidance to support Scottish public services in taking a child-friendly approach to complaints, following the introduction of new law. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which ca
Several Sheriffs contacted SLN recently to report that they were not receiving their daily Scottish Legal News newsletter. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has investigated and found that security filters had wrongly identified SLN as "spam". SCTS has now made the necessary adjustmen
