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A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Alarm as 2 billion people have parliaments shut or limited by COVID-19 | openDemocracy

Moir and Sweeney Litigation partner Ian Moir is well known as a vociferous defender of legal aid, with his role as co-convenor of the Law Society of Scotland’s legal aid committee seeing him lobby hard on behalf of colleagues who make a living doing publicly funded work. As part of that he hel

A £30 million pledge to support Scottish charities through the coronavirus crisis is welcome but will not tackle the immediate cash flow problems leaving many in a fight for survival, lawyers have warned. Alastair Keatinge and David Dunsire, of Lindsays, are advising a string of organisations

A national campaign is being relaunched to reassure anyone experiencing domestic abuse that support is available to them during these difficult times. Social isolation measures put in place to tackle coronavirus (COVID-19) may be adding pressure to those in abusive domestic situations.

The charities team at Gillespie Macandrew, with support from charity regulator OSCR, has advised on the creation of a new charitable body providing much-needed support to hospital patients who are suffering from the restrictions imposed due to COVID-19. The Rainbow Boxes Foundation provides ess

Michael Howlin QC, chairman of Terra Firma Chambers, considers the wider impact of coronavirus and the importance of continued access to specialist legal services in these challenging times for the legal profession. The social and economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold d

John Scott QC has been commissioned by Police Scotland Chief Constable Iain Livingstone to review the force's use of new emergency powers to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. The respected human rights lawyer will chair a group to provide independent scrutiny of how officers and staff are ap

Former justice secretary Kenny MacAskill has called for a prisoner release programme to be established by the Scottish government in light of the pandemic. Under the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act, only those convicted of sexual or terror offences or who pose a threat to an identified person will be req

Justice First Fellow Louise Herd discusses her experience as a trainee at Clan Childlaw. Clan Childlaw was founded in 2008 by Alison Reid and Fiona Jones after they recognised a need for a specialist outreach legal representation service for children and young people in Scotland.

A doctor who was removed from the medical register after being found to have intentionally falsified parts of a medical examination has had her appeal against the decision refused. Dr Mary-Jane McLennan was found by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal to have falsely attributed quotations in a m

Macnabs has announced the appointment of solicitor Megan Joiner. Ms Joiner, formerly of Perth firm Jameson & Mackay, has experience advising clients on family law issues, particularly separation and divorce, cohabitee claims, and residence and contact disputes. Managing partner Ruth Croman said:

A journey of a thousand miles is said to begin with a single step. I suggest a journey needs a destination. Without this the traveller is lost. COVID-19 has paralysed this country and indeed the world. It threatens our economy, collective life, family life and how we as human beings exist and intera

A man was caught impersonating a police officer after attempting to pull over undercover officers, gardaí in Ireland have said. The man, who has not been arrested, had blue lights on his vehicle and signalled another car to pull over without realising it was an unmarked patrol car, the Irish

In the third of his jurisprudential primers, Benjamin Bestgen looks at truth. See part two here. Scottish author Irvine Welsh reacted with disbelief when Alex Salmond was acquitted of several sexual offences last month: “For fuck sake. NINE women were lying? Come on.”

Court of Session Inner House appeals will recommence from next Tuesday, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has announced. Following work by the SCTS's digital team over the Easter holiday period, new systems have been set up to maintain civil justice during the lockdown.