Search: David J Black

The proposed repeal of the Human Rights Act would “wind the constitutional clock back to the 1990s” and is “particularly unwise” now because of the actions of Russia in Ukraine, experts have warned. Government plans to replace the legislation with a British Bill of Rights wou

UK ministers have laid out plans to cap the costs of libel lawsuits and make claimants prove “actual malice” so as to deter legal action commonly used by Russian oligarchs to intimidate journalists and stop publication of their links to Vladimir Putin. The UK government said it would see

A national target will be introduced to ensure more people with problematic opiate drug use are accessing life-saving community treatments. There are currently around 29,500 people using Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST). Under the new target, announced today by drugs policy minister Angela Constanc

Evidence led trials in Scotland decreased by 15 per cent to 1,716 in Q3 2021/22 compared to Q2, new figures show. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) quarterly statistical bulletin contains figures on activity in all High, Sheriff, Justice of the Peace and criminal appeal courts with na

A person injury sheriff has made a payment order totalling nearly £1.4 million after finding that a 54-year-old man was abused as a child at a boarding school operated by the Congregation of Christian Brothers. Senior counsel for the pursuer, AB, had sought a combined award of £1,741,107

For the final article in Shepherd and Wedderburn's LGBT+ History Month series on ‘Politics in Art: The Arc is Long’, Zachary Stewart discusses his favourite TV series, Schitt’s Creek. Many may view this choice as dubious at first but the subtlety of this show’s approach

The fine collection rate is continuing to recover, the latest Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service quarterly fines report shows. The three-year collection rates for all fine/penalty types show improvement for both value and number when the figures as at 18 January 2022 are compared with 18 October

First Scottish Searching Services have been confirmed as Exclusive Sponsors of the Conveyancing Conferences in CLT Scotland’s 2022 programme. Over the coming year they will take an active role in various CPD events. The first event in 2022 will take place online on 23rd March, the conference b

The Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee, Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, and Social Justice and Social Security Committee are coming together to hold two special sessions looking at the actions taken to reduce drugs deaths and problem drug use in Scotland. The sessions, w

Solicitor advocate Neil Hay and his team have joined Levy & McRae. Mr Hay brings with him his core legal team of associate solicitor Andrew Seggie and legal team PA Michelle McKinnon from MTM Defence Lawyers.

Specialist online courts should be established to tackle domestic abuse cases, it has been recommended. The Virtual Trials National Project board has issued its report on the piloting of virtual summary trials. The board, led by Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle of Grampian, Highland and Islands, suggest

The UK Supreme Court, in partnership with Royal Holloway, University of London, has launched an online course. Entitled Inside the UK Supreme Court: Its Role, Its Work and Cases that Affect Us All, the two-week course, delivered by FutureLearn, a social learning platform, is designed to increase kno

Anti-racism campaigners have celebrated a jury's decision to find protestors who toppled a statue of a slave trader in Bristol not guilty of criminal damage. Jake Skuse 33, Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, and Sage Willoughby, 22, admitted participating in toppling the statue and throwing it in

Domestic abuse cases accounted for 34 per cent of Sheriff summary trials called and 43 per cent of Sheriff summary trials in which evidence was led between July and September, new figures show. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service quarterly statistical bulletin contains figures on activity in a

As the first week of COP26 drew to a close, and fireworks lit the sky in celebration of Diwali and Guy Fawkes night, a group of mediators from across the globe gathered on Zoom to discuss the World Mediators Alliance on Climate Change Green Pledge. The event was hosted by John Sturrock Q.C of Core S