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Convictions rose by 15 per cent in 2022-23 to 68,067, new figures from Scotland’s chief statistician show. The figures demonstrate the continued recovery of the justice system following the impact of the pandemic. 2022-23 marked a return to more normal court capacities following the court clos

Asylum seekers were unlawfully detained on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands controversially retained by the UK after Mauritius became independent in the 1960s, a judge has ruled. The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Supreme Court yesterday found that dozens of Sri Lankan Tamils w

Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Lord Hodge, has today announced his intention to retire on 31 December 2025. Lord Hodge has served as a justice of the Supreme Court and the JCPC since 1st October 2013 and was appointed as deputy president in January 2020. Appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1996,

Burness Paull has become the first Scottish law firm to support the 93% Club as a corporate sponsor. The 93% Club is described as the UK’s “least exclusive members’ club” dedicated to representing the 93% of the UK population who attended state schools. The organisation exist

The Crown Office has lodged a first notice to begin the court process for a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the death of Anne Amos. Ms Amos, aged 72, died in Pine Villa Nursing Home, Loanhead, Midlothian on 13 September 2021 after choking on food.

Catherine Dyer CBE has been re-appointed as chair of the Community Justice Scotland board. Ms Dyer is a lawyer with extensive experience of public sector leadership, policy, strategy and delivery and is the first woman to be appointed as crown agent for Scotland, acting as chief executive of the Cro

A sheriff has awarded a Glasgow motorist who was struck from behind at a junction the sum of £3,144 in damages after finding that she had suffered neck pain for four months following the accident. Farheen Ackrim sought damages from UK Insurance Ltd after she sustained a soft tissue injury from

The Irish government has reaffirmed its support for international law after the Israeli government announced it would shut its Dublin embassy in retaliation for Ireland's planned intervention at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Ministers agreed last Wednesday to intervene in the ICJ cases o

Dean of Faculty Roddy Dunlop KC reminds us that there is a presumption of innocence – for now. The age of social media has brought many benefits. Members of the public are able to engage with a number of issues – from the banal to the fundamental – in a way that was not previously

The Scottish government has been taken to task by the information commissioner over its failure to back down from a legal case over the publication of evidence from an inquiry into whether Nicola Sturgeon broke the ministerial code. David Hamilton said he was disappointed with the government's behav

Ian Moir is well known in legal circles both as one half of Glasgow-based criminal law firm Moir & Sweeney Litigation and as the outspoken convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s Criminal Legal Aid Committee. He almost didn’t become a lawyer at all, though. Having been told while a

The Scottish government has awarded £400,000 to Citizens Advice Scotland to improve access to help for people struggling with council tax debt. Building on successful pilot schemes funded in 2023-4, the additional funding will enable targeted advice on council tax debt to be provided in six ne

Parents are being urged not to turn puppy love at Christmas into a financial pipeline for criminal gangs. Millions of pounds are spent every year on trafficked dogs bought at unauthorised puppy farms or online. Sales are expected to spike in the run-up to  Christmas amid concerns that buyers co