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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, a former Scottish Office minister in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, has passed away at the age of 81. The second son of the 14th Duke of Hamilton, he represented Edinburgh West as an MP from 1974 until 1997, and subsequently served as a list MSP for th

The parliamentary fight over the UK government's Rwanda bill is to continue into next week after peers voted to demand changes to the bill.

Lord Boyd of Duncansby has retired from the bench following a distinguished career. He qualified as a solicitor in 1978, became an advocate in 1983 and took silk in 1995. He practised at Caesar & Howie from 1978 to 1982 and as an advocate from 1983 to 1997, building up a practice in civil and pa

Catherine Smith KC has been appointed by the new UK government as Advocate General for Scotland.

Professor Anne-Maree Farrell, chair of medical jurisprudence at Edinburgh Law School, will be welcomed as a fellow to the Academy of Social Sciences this autumn. She is one of 45 social scientists to be selected, joining 1,600 other fellows from academia, the public, private and third sectors.

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray welcomed Catherine Smith KC, the newly appointed advocate general for Scotland, to her post.

Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws KC is to deliver the Ruth Adler Human Rights Lecture 2024 at Edinburgh Law School next month. Born and brought up in Glasgow, she is a bencher of Gray’s Inn, an honorary writer to the Signet and the recipient of 42 honorary degrees and fellowships from many univer

Following the success of last year's Burns Supper in memory of the late Billy Boyle, Dundee lawyers are organising another event next year to be sponsored by Scottish Legal News. The Dundee Lawyers' Boyle Memorial Burns Supper will take place in Dundee's historic Burns Club on Saturday 18th January

Nominations are now open to join the Law Society of Scotland’s decision-making body to represent solicitors across Scotland. Joining the Law Society’s Council allows you to influence important decisions, contribute to key pieces of work and represent and support local solicitors.

A Council of Europe body has said mass surveillance fundamentally threatens human rights and violates privacy rights enshrined in European law. The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe stated in a report it is “deeply concerned” about the advanced technology the US and UK have used to

Professor Alan Miller The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has achieved the top grade of accreditation, for the second time, from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions.

  Lord Carloway, the Lord Justice-Clerk (far left) and Lord Keen of Elie QC (far right)

Alison Saunders, director of public prosecutions The decision not to prosecute Lord Janner of Braunstone QC has been reversed amid calls for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, to resign.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell The Scotland Bill introduced to take forward the recommendations of the Smith Commission will be amended substantially by the UK government in the Autumn.

Professor Nic Daéid The field of forensic science is "in crisis", partly due to underfunding, and could be undermining the justice system, an academic has warned.