Kapil Summan

Lord Hope of Craighead has expressed concern that a bill to recognise overseas qualifications could affect Scots lawyers – without their input. The Professional Qualifications Bill, currently at committee stage, would treat individuals seeking to practise particular professions in the UK "as i

Defence lawyers around the country downed their gowns yesterday in protest against the Scottish government's refusal to promptly disburse payments from its resilience fund. The Scottish government has only paid out £2.3 million of the £9m fund and less than a third of firms that applied

Defence lawyers around Scotland have gone on strike today after last-minute talks with the Scottish government to obtain additional payments from its resilience fund failed. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association held talks with Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf over the remainder of the fund yesterda

In the 53rd and bonus addition to the jurisprudential primer series, Kapil Summan discusses the debate around the 'not proven' verdict and the views of its supporters and detractors. Thanks are due to Benjamin Bestgen and Dr Brian Barry, of Technological University Dublin, with whom the author had u

The 'not proven' verdict is neither logical nor sensible, undermines the presumption of innocence and should be abolished, a recently retired judge has said. Writing in Scottish Legal News today, Lord Uist, who retired from the bench in February, said that the third verdict was "wholly indefensible

Prosecutors have no licence to "police a free press in a free country", a group of former lawyers who have held high office claim. Writing in Scottish Legal News today, the group, which calls itself Quis? – Latin for 'who' – argues that the Crown Office abused the contempt of court mecha

Solicitor and politician Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh is to appear before the Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) next month. A virtual preliminary hearing in Law Society v Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh will take place on May 11.

A renewed attack on trial by jury in Scotland has been met with scorn from lawyers. A "cross-justice" group led by the Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian, has proposed a pilot of juryless rape trials in what represents the latest attempt to remove juries from sexual offences cases.

The role of Lord Advocate should be split so that his political and prosecutorial functions are entirely separate, the vast majority of respondents to a Scottish Legal News survey have said.

A new advocate has spoken of the difficult position he and his cohort have found themselves in over the past year and has called on government to widen the ambit of financial support schemes. Jon Kiddie joined the Faculty of Advocates last year, along with 25 others in what was one of the biggest in

A former sheriff has questioned whether the rule of law is actually at work in Scotland amidst the problems plaguing the Salmond inquiry. Scottish Legal News spoke to former sheriff, Kevin Drummond QC, who said that the Scottish Parliament seems unable to investigate "a relatively uncomplicated issu

If the past few months have taught us anything it is that the right medicine can change everything – so who better than a lawyer with a background in immunology to experiment with a new practice model developed to benefit the community? Blair Melville, 33, is the solicitor behind Teneu Legal,

Most lawyers oppose the removal of the 'not proven' verdict from Scotland's legal system, according to new research. A survey carried out by the Open University found that Scots lawyers supported a system consisting of 'proven' and 'not proven' verdicts and requiring a juror majority of 12

A new judgment paves the way for a potential change in the law that would allow for a good faith purchaser to have their real rights in property modified – without their consent. The Inner House of the Court of Session refused a reclaiming motion challenging a decision to allow a petition for

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has denied claims it gave false assurances that a sheriff court was safe to attend last December following a Covid-19 outbreak. Seven members of staff at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court self-isolated before Christmas after testing positive for