Free speech campaigners have responded to government assurances that contentious hate crime legislation will be amended and also urged MSPs on Holyrood’s Justice Committee to see problem provisions scrapped. Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said the government would “work tirelessly”
Search: Scottish syndicate purchased land 1901 for £5000
Plans to conduct High Court trials using remote jury centres are now underway and the first trials are expected to start at the end of September. Following the recommendation from Lady Dorrian's Restarting Solemn Trials Working Group, the first trials will be based in selected ODEON cinemas and are
In a rare moment of candour, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis yesterday admitted that the British government was breaking international law by overriding the terms of the EU Withdrawal Agreement that dealt with the Northern Ireland protocol. Scottish Legal News will not be offering a prize t
Calls have been made for subsidised traineeships for law students seeking to qualify as criminal defence solicitors in order to preserve equality of arms in the profession. Many criminal defence firms cannot afford to take on trainees, despite a willingness on the part of law students to become crim
The Justice Secretary has contacted senior lawyers as he prepares to ditch sections of the Scottish government's controversial hate crime proposals. Humza Yousaf is planning to remove sections of the bill to secure opposition support at Holyrood for the bill.
Senators of the College of Justice have warned of inconsistency and ambiguity in proposed hate crime legislation. In a response to Holyrood's Justice Committee, judges noted that free speech provisions in clauses 11 and 12 of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill only apply
The police and courts could gain the power to remove suspected domestic abusers from victims' homes under proposed legislation. Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf announced that the Scottish government's Domestic Abuse Bill will be considered "within weeks" and if passed would let police ban suspected a
Zoe McDonnell and Julie Brodtkorb consider recent proposals to introduce longer sentences for dangerous drivers. Drivers across the UK should take note of a proposal on the sentencing of dangerous drivers who cause death discussed at the UK Parliament on 21 July 2020. Former Prime Minister Ther
Thousands of women who were executed from the 16th to 18th centuries after being accused of witchcraft have been commemorated at an event in Fife. Three plaques along the Fife trail were unveiled at the ceremony to commemorate the accused women of Culcross, Torryburn and Valleyfield.
When Amanda Millar put herself forward to become president of the Law Society of Scotland she wanted to make a difference to her profession during a time of considerable challenges. What she did not know back in the relative calm of 2018 was that by the time she took over from John Mulholland in Jun
The Scottish Greens have told the UK government to keep their polygraph tests out of Scotland’s legal system following reports that ‘Jeremy Kyle’ lie detector tests could be rolled out across the UK for convicted terrorists. A review of terror legislation has recommended
Scotland is to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into domestic law. The UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill will make it unlawful for public authorities to act incompatibly with the incorporated UNCRC requirements, giving children, young people and their representati
A mother who applied for an order under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 on the basis that her child had been wrongfully retained in Scotland has had her petition refused on the ground that the child was not habitually resident in Italy. The petitioner, JP, shared parental res
Bill Meldrum presents the five key principles that should focus landlords' minds around how they interact with commercial tenants. The UK’s commercial property sector faces its own set of challenges due to the uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to our world.
A legal expert has warned against the Scottish government's plan to hand powers currently held by the EU to ministers after the Brexit transition period. Aileen McHarg, professor of public law and human rights at Durham University, has raised concerns over the proposals and recommends that powers sh
