Plans to increase the use of pre-recorded evidence in criminal trials have been given the green light by Holyrood’s Justice Committee. The moves are aimed at reducing the stress and trauma of being involved with the legal system for vulnerable victims and witnesses of crime, with an initial fo
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A report on a consultation reviewing the civil court fees of solicitors has been published by the Scottish Civil Justice Council (SCJC) Costs and Funding Committee. The report summarises the responses received to the Consultation on the Review of Fees in the Scottish Civil Courts: Fees of
One of Scotland's most distinguished former judges takes centre stage in a new Netflix four-part series entitled The Tokyo Trial with English actor Paul Freeman playing judge Lord Patrick, a former Dean of the Faculty of Advocates and WW1 Royal Flying Corps air ace, who represented the UK on the Int
A woman who made a £1.6 million fortune by selling fake treatments for weight loss and cancer has been banned from running a company for six years, The Times reports. Carol Wiseman, 51, and her sister Helen Buchan, 52, both from Fraserburgh, claimed that their Secret Diet Drops led to weight l
A woman who was injured in a road traffic accident when a car she was travelling in was struck by a police van is suing Police Scotland for damages. Anji Mannas claims that although the physical injuries she sustained were “modest”, she suffered “severe and continuing psy
A solicitor representing the family of one of the 2014 Glasgow bin lorry crash victims has called on the UK government to change the law to prevent further tragedies. Ronnie Conway, Scottish co-ordinator for the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), warned that there is "no system in place
Sheriff Ross Macfarlane QC, artistic director of the Faculty of Advocates choir, writes on the humble beginnings of its annual Christmas carol charity fundraiser. It all started so innocently… November 1996: I was a fairly new advocate and having a cup of tea in the advocates’ reading r
The number of tenancy deposit cases now being heard by the Scottish First-tier Tribunal indicate a similar specialist court in England would have to deal with up to 1,200 deposit protection cases each year, according to the chair of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). Last month the UK Government laun
Appeals to the UK Supreme Court should not require certification by the High Court of Justiciary that the issue raises a point of law of general public importance, a review chaired by the Lord Justice General has concluded. The review group has published its report following a consultation
A homeless man who was evicted for rent arrears has successfully argued that a decision to the effect that he was “intentionally homeless” was “unlawful” - but his legal challenge was dismissed because he raised the action against the wrong party. A judge in the Court of
Solicitor Eamon Keane responds in a personal capacity to yesterday's piece by Dr Stuart Waiton. The views expressed are his own. The debate around civil actions for damages in rape cases is no doubt a topic which is of considerable interest to the profession and the wider public. That being sai
Dr Stuart Waiton looks at the issue of rape being examined in the civil court following vindication of an accused at trial. Men in Scotland are now at risk of being branded ‘rapist’ for political and ideological reasons, following the Stephen Coxen case. Coxen was tried for the
A recent decision in the Court of Session underlines the importance of adhering to the statutory time limits in raising personal injury actions, writes Mike Kemp. The general rule is that a personal injury claim should be either settled by agreement or a court action raised and served on the defende
BTO Solicitors LLP has announced that two of its associates have become solicitor advocates, bringing the total number in the firm to 21, and giving it the most of any firm in Scotland. Mark Hastings and Lewis Richardson, both associates at BTO, were admitted at a calling ceremony today at
