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Stephen Gold As someone brought up with very little money, whose life has been enhanced beyond measure by education, news of further decline in the literacy and numeracy of Scotland’s children feels very personal to me. But at least social attitudes have much improved since I was a child.

Lord Wilson Plans in the House of Lords to make ex-wives “stand on their own two feet” by prohibiting the transfer of any non-matrimonial property upon divorce have been criticised by a Supreme Court justice who said “well-meaning” peers too readily believe what they “read in the papers”

Professor Stephen Tierney The upheaval of 2016 could overshadow every constitutional change since the late 19th century, writes Stephen Tierney, professor of constitutional theory at Edinburgh University and legal adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution in this year's SLN

Angela Grahame As areas of traditional work are being closed down, the Faculty of Advocates is, to paraphrase the Star Trek prologue, looking to explore strange new areas of business, to seek new clients, discover new disputes to resolve, to boldly go where no advocates have gone before.

Cannabis use for medical purposes should be legalised according to a cross-party group at Westminster. Baroness Meacher (pictured), chairman of the group of peers and MPs who undertook an inquiry into the issue, said that to refuse to recognise the medicinal advantages of cannabis was “irrational�

A teenager who was jailed after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of a quantity of heroin with a maximum street value of £1,100 has successfully appealed against his sentence. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that a custodial term was not the only appropriate disposal having regard to

(L-R): Dougie Vipond of BBC Scotland, Donald Walker, assistant editor, The Scotsman, Mark Harris of Pagan Osborne, Catriona Shearer, BBC Scotland

Aileen McLeod Twenty bird of prey crimes were recorded in 2015 including six poisoning incidents, according to the latest bird of prey crime maps.

Robert Sharp Following calls from over 100 authors last week for reform of Scotland's antiquated defamation laws which not only endanger free speech but could lead to libel tourism, Scottish Legal News spoke to English PEN about the developments south of the border that culminated in the Defamation

Drew McCusker A new organisation for LBGTI legal professionals in Scotland, The Glass Network, has launched.

Alison Levitt QC A former prosecutor has called for a new law giving sex abuse suspects anonymity until they are charged.

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice has announced the appointments of Colin Dunipace, Professor Jim Fraser and Dr Rajan Darjee as members to the Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission. The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission is a public body which was established in April 1999 by an Act of Par

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.

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.

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.