Kapil Summan

A question from a politician gave the Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian, pause for thought, and laughter, at Holyrood yesterday. The judge, along with Lord Ericht, was appearing before the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, which was taking evidence on the Regulation of Legal Servi

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has made a reference to the High Court of Justiciary in a bid to expand the evidential value of 'distress' in rape cases. A seven-judge panel will decide whether or not to overturn the 1997 case of Smith v Lees, in which a bench of five decided that the distress of a co

Advocates cannot act in the juryless trials pilot without the participation of solicitors, contrary to a rumour endorsed by politicians that betrays "complete ignorance" of the legal system, a senior lawyer has told Scottish Legal News. Vice-Dean of Faculty, Ronnie Renucci KC, said that, since

Scottish Legal News editor Kapil Summan speaks to historian and former Supreme Court justice, Jonathan Sumption, Lord Sumption, at his home in London. They discuss criminal reforms; the limits of law; the decline in legislative drafting in the UK; free speech and the need to stand up to the new cult

Scottish government plans to check up on the performance of the proposed juryless rape trials violate the separation of powers and are an attack on the independence of the judiciary, a former judge has said. Writing in Scottish Legal News today, Lord Uist, a retired senator of the College of Justice

Scots lawyers are overwhelmingly in favour of a four-day work week, a Scottish Legal News poll has, unsurprisingly, found. Of the 331 responses to our survey, 286 readers, or 86.4 per cent, answered 'yes' to the question: Do you believe that lawyers should work a four-day week?

Humza Yousaf has promised to decriminalise abortion in Scotland – despite the fact it is not a crime here. Mr Yousaf, who hopes to become Scotland's next leader, said he was supporting campaign group Back Off Scotland's calls for the practice to be fully decriminalised.

The immigration rules relating to the EU Settlement Scheme are so poorly drafted that they may "lack the clarity of law", a judge in the Upper Tribunal has said. The comments were made in a case in which the Home Secretary appealed a decision of the First-tier Tribunal, which had found in favour of

Scottish Legal News spoke to Niamh Hargan about her busy life as a media lawyer and novelist. Lawyer by day and writer by night – literally – Niamh Hargan juggles a demanding job in media law while penning novels in her spare time.

The Scottish government's indyref2 bill is ultra vires of the Scotland Act, the Supreme Court has ruled.

An MSP has launched a consultation on creating a specific crime of stealing dogs in Scotland, even though doing so is already a crime. Scottish Conservative MSP Maurice Golden's plans would see anyone convicted of stealing a dog face up to five years in prison, even though there is no such limit und

The Scottish Parliament has declined to close a petition to modify a law that does not apply in Scotland. Petition PE1969 is entitled 'Amend the law to fully decriminalise abortion in Scotland' and claims that the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 makes abortion a criminal offence in Scotland.

Said to be a 'living instrument', the European Convention on Human Rights was conceived in the throes of reconciliatory passion in May 1948 at the Congress of Europe in The Hague. It was brought to term by more than a hundred parliamentarians from across the region, including the Edinburgh-born Cons

The Scottish government's latest publication on our controversial third verdict – responses to a consultation on its future – reveals that the public and practitioners alike impute to it their own meaning to suit their own ends. Like some intractable theological question, it has bred zea

Overnight QC Suella Braverman has thrown her hat into the Conservative leadership ring, overnight. Ms Braverman, who threatened to “take back control” from an interfering judiciary upon her appointment in February 2020, practised at the bar before becoming the MP for Fareham in