A legal academic has urged Scotland’s sentencing body to apologise to rape victims over the time taken to produce new guidelines, describing the seven-year process as a “national disgrace”. Dr Graeme Brown, of the University of Aberdeen, said the development of Scotland’s fir
Search: Scottish syndicate purchased land 1901 for £5000
Holmes Mackillop Solicitors has signed up as a Gold Sponsor of Ayrshire Hospice’s Road to the World Cup fundraising dinner. The event taking takes place on Friday 8 May at Ayr Racecourse to celebrate the Scotland men's football team qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 28 years a
The Faculty of Advocates has welcomed a significant new addition to its historic art collection with the acquisition of a portrait of the late George William Penrose, Lord Penrose (1938 - 2025). The portrait was unveiled at a reception held at Parliament House last week.
The success of community-based sentences in reducing reoffending and paying back to society has been highlighted following the recently announced extra funding for alternatives to custody. Justice Secretary Angela Constance visited Mayfield & Easthouses Development Trust in Dalkeith where people
A new report argues that an unexpected interpretation of the Scotland Act by the Supreme Court has caused confusion over how laws are made in the UK’s devolved parliaments. The report argues the court’s reading of Section 28(7) of the Act has made it harder for devolved governments to pa
Views are being sought on proposed changes to the Code of Practice for how Scotland’s police officers use stop and search powers. The code covers the conduct, recording and oversight of stop and search activity. The Scottish government is legally required to periodically review the code and ha
A 24-year-old convicted drug dealer who pled guilty to two charges of supplying cannabis and was imprisoned for six years and three months has lost an appeal against his sentence after it was ruled that the application of sentencing guidelines for class A drugs offences from England had not resulted
GCU Law academics Dr Andrew Tickell and Seonaid Stevenson-McCabe have been nominated for a research prize for leading a successful campaign to secure lifelong anonymity for victims of sexual offences in Scotland. The Glasgow Caledonian University lecturers have been shortlisted for the Socio-Legal S
Burges Salmon has advised Alba Trees, the UK’s largest cell-grown tree nursery and a Cibus Fund II portfolio company, on the acquisition of the business and assets of Christies of Fochabers, the long‑established Scottish bare‑root tree nursery. The acquisition secures the core operational
A commercial judge hearing two test cases concerning repayment of bursary money paid to dentistry students in exchange for a commitment to future NHS work has ruled that both dentists were liable to repay parts of the payments after exceeding the permitted level of private work to avoid repayment. A
The creation of a new criminal offence of 'ecocide' has moved closer as Holyrood voted to progress the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill to stage two yesterday. The Ecocide Bill was introduced in the Parliament by Monica Lennon MSP last May. Her proposal for tougher criminal sanctions for the most severe envi
Work on safety measures at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) will be monitored by a new group made up of infection control experts, whistleblowers and patients.
Scottish Women’s Aid is marking 10 years of Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage helpline as it responds to record levels of demand for support. Launched in early 2016 with support from the Scottish government, the service began with just five staff and a phone line and received
The automatic release point for certain short-term prisoners will be changed from 40 per cent to 30 per cent of their sentence, subject to approval by Holyrood.
Employee ownership trusts (EOTs) and other alternative business structures (ABS) are playing an increasingly important role in business succession planning across the UK, writes Douglas Roberts. Nearly 2,500 businesses across the country are now employee owned, representing around 358,000 employee o
