First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has asked Elena Whitham MSP to join the Scottish government as minister for community safety and legal affairs. Ms Whitham will replace Ash Regan, who resigned over her opposition to the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Search: Scottish syndicate purchased land 1901 for £5000
Susie Mountain takes a look at a new report on cohabitation. The Scottish Law Commission has published its Report on Cohabitation. The report considers how the existing law governing the rights of cohabitants on separation might be revised and follows a lengthy consultation process with solicitors,
The Scottish Information Commissioner has reported a significant increase in the number of appeals made from people who are unhappy with a Scottish public authority’s handling of a freedom of information (FOI) request. The commissioner’s latest report reveals that, during 2021-22, he rec
Dear Editor, The Scottish Legal News [headline] from 3 November on the publication of our 2021-22 report to the Scottish Parliament ["Abject failure of Scotland’s FOI regime highlighted by irritated public"] isn’t reflective of the text in the article that follows and isn’t support
Dear Editor, Andrew Stevenson of the Scottish Law Agents Society, in his article of 7 November 2022, noted a period when the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission Board had fewer than the intended legal members on it.
Plans to scrap jury trials have come in for harsh criticism by the senior woman at the Scottish bar. Frances McMenamin KC expressed grave concerns over proposals to enact juryless trials in rape and other sexual cases.
Since calling to the Scottish bar in June of this year Megan Davidson has been making a splash in the legal world. Upon completion of her devilling period, Ms Davidson was called to the bar and was one of five new advocates to join Arnot Manderson Advocates. Since then the Fife resident has appeared
Dear Editor Over 20 years ago a consultation was announced by the then Scottish Executive entitled "Strengthening Judicial Independence." Judicial Independence was not at that time in need of any "strengthening". The real purpose of the exercise was to be found in the alternative title of the consul
The Scottish Liberal Democrats have revealed that Police Scotland spent almost £5 million on settling legal claims in the 2021/2022 financial year and warned that police leadership will need to ensure that such claims are kept to a minimum. Justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP highlighted th
The world’s first code of practice governing the use of DNA and other biometric data in a criminal justice setting comes into practice in Scotland today. The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner, Dr Brian Plastow, consulted extensively across the criminal justice sector while drawing up the detail
Dear Editor, Kevin Drummond was quite properly advising, or even exhorting, sheriffs to be vigilant to ensure that those in the Scottish Court Service (SCS), as it then was, did not attempt to interfere with their judicial function. Sadly, some thought his warnings were “over the top”. N
Around a quarter of Scotland's prison population last year was held on remand, the largest proportion on remand on record, new figures show. The Scottish government yesterday published its prison population statistics for 2021–22, showing that the average daily remand population increased by a
The Scottish Law Commission (SLC) has proposed a major change to the rules that govern the termination of leases of commercial property in Scotland, giving landlords and tenants greater flexibility. In a new report the SLC concluded that the Scots law doctrine of “tacit relocation”
Alcohol companies could face tighter restrictions on advertising in order to protect vulnerable people under new Scottish government proposals set out today. The public’s views are being sought on plans to restrict adverts for alcohol at sporting events, on buses, and online and elsewhere to r
Scottish taxpayers could see the amount they pay in tax go up after the Scottish government publishes its income tax plans in December. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt yesterday used his first Autumn Statement to announce a number of measures aimed at raising an additional £25 billion in tax revenue, o