Mitchell Skilling

The Inner House of the Court of Session has ruled that the policy of the Scottish Ministers to prioritise certain classes of high security prisoners for access to rehabilitative work is unlawful under the ECHR after a challenge to the policy was made by a prisoner serving an Order for Lifelong Restr

A prisoner who has been serving a life sentence for the murder of a nine-year-old boy since 1974 has failed in a challenge against the Scottish Ministers' decision to delay determining his application for a First Grant of Temporary Release. Brian Morrice was convicted of the murder when he was 17 ye

An appeal against a conviction on five charges of rape and assault against two separate complainers that took place between 1963 and 1997 has been refused by the High Court of Justiciary. Appellant JB, who was sentenced to eight years and six months' imprisonment, argued that the Crown had unreasona

An employment judge has refused to strike out a sex discrimination claim by an employee of NHS Lothian but has ordered her to pay a deposit of £1,000 in order to continue her case. Claimant Mrs M Hutton argued that she was carrying out work equal to a male comparator for less pay and thus was

The UK Supreme Court has determined that HM Revenue and Customs has the power to refuse to accept a taxable person’s self-assessment claim and decide at a later date to pay a lower amount than was claimed after an appeal by a Scottish optician business. DCM Optical Holdings Ltd, which trades a

The Inner House of the Court of Session has found that the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is not entitled to apply for the production and delivery of privileged legal documents from a solicitor under section 17 of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007. The matter arose followi

A Lord Ordinary has determined that a farmer who rented grazing land in the north of Scotland was in breach of a 2015 oral agreement on the payment of Scottish Government farming subsidies and therefore liable to make payments to the landowners. Golden Lane Securities Ltd and Christopher Moran &

The Inner House of the Court of Session has rejected a reclaiming motion by the insurers of a Maltese tour company against a decision to dismiss a personal injury action raised against them due to the state immunity of a third party. Pursuer Simon Morrison originally raised the action for damages ag

An appeal by a Polish citizen against a sheriff’s order to extradite him to Poland to serve a suspended prison sentence for mobile phone robberies he committed as a teenager has been refused by the High Court of Justiciary. Adam Osipczuk sought to argue that he was not a fugitive within the le

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has rejected a case by a company that bought a house on the island of Sanday in the Orkney Islands alleging abusive practices by the former directors of a local haulage firm in conjunction with the local council and its wholly owned ferry subsidiary. Blue Planet Holdi

A Lord Ordinary has refused a judicial review petition challenging a nil valuation of company shares by an independent chartered accountant for the purposes of paying out a former shareholder. David Maguire, a former shareholder of 5PM Ltd, challenged the decision of Stewart MacDonald CA to ascribe

An appeal by a man who described himself as suffering from a mental disorder seeking damages for medical negligence has lost an appeal against a sheriff’s decision to delete certain averments from probation in the Sheriff Appeal Court. DD, the pursuer in an action against NHS Fife Health Board

The Sheriff Appeal Court has refused an appeal against a sheriff’s interlocutor allowing the addition of a crave to prove the tenor of a letter said to alter the terms of a deceased man’s will in a dispute between his four children. Elizabeth Skelton, the first defender in an action rais

A Pakistani woman who was refused clearance for a two-month UK visitor visa to visit her daughter in Glasgow has succeeded in having the decision reduced after a judicial review petition to the Outer House of the Court of Session. Petitioner Ghulam Sughra argued that the Entry Clearance Officer acti

A corporate landlord that was refused an award of £950 for repair of a door damaged by police officers executing a drugs search warrant has successfully had the decision re-made by the Upper Tribunal for Scotland.