Case Reports

A man accused of rape who was seeking to question the complainer about a previous consensual sexual encounter he had with her in order to elicit evidence supporting his special defence of consent has had his appeal refused. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary upheld the decision of a pr

A petition seeking judicial review of the Scottish Government’s purported ban on “fracking” has been refused, after a judge ruled that there was in fact “no prohibition” against the controversial process of oil and gas extraction in Scotland – despite ministerial

A man who was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a friend while she was asleep has had his sentence reduced by six months following an appeal. The High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court ruled that while the offence represented a “gross breach of trust” the s

A former advisor to officials of President Vladimir Putin who was convicted in absence of fraud and wanted on other fraud charges has successfully challenged a request for his extradition to Russia. A sheriff rejected a request by the Russian Federation to extradite Dr Alexander Shapovalov after rul

A woman who was raped in the 1960s but did not report the incident to police until nearly 50 years later has successfully challenged a tribunal’s decision to refuse her claim for criminal injuries compensation. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the tribunal reached a “

Tenant farmers who challenged a judge’s decision over the calculation of compensation payable to them following an amendment to agricultural holdings legislation have had their appeal dismissed. Six limited partnerships raised judicial review proceedings alleging that they had suffered loss as

A plumbing business has had its appeal against a decision of an employment tribunal unanimously dismissed after justices in the Supreme Court endorsed the decision of the tribunal, namely that the respondent was, inter alia, a worker in terms of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The Respondent, Gary S

A motorist found guilty of using a mobile phone while driving who claimed that the justice of the peace’s conduct of the proceedings breached his right to a fair trial has had his appeal against conviction dismissed. The complainer alleged that the justice demonstrated “bias” by br

Trustees of the Scottish Solicitors Staff Pension Fund who raised an action against a legal firm and its former partners to recover a £90,000 deficit in the fund have successfully appealed against a judge’s decision to dismiss their claim. The Inner House of the Court of Session allowed

A request for a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a ruling on the question of whether the United Kingdom can unilaterally revoke its notice of intention to the leave the EU has been refused. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the question being asked was “hypo

A Chinese asylum seeker who sought to challenge a decision by the Home Office to refuse to treat her further representations based on extracts from an expert’s report in another case as a “fresh claim” has had her application dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session considered th

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has lost an appeal to the UK Supreme Court in which it sought declarations that the current law on abortion in Northern Ireland is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights in cases of rape, incest, an

The publishers of the Daily Record have been fined £80,000 after pleading guilty to contempt of court over articles which appeared in the newspaper and on its website relating to two separate criminal proceedings. The article in relation to the accused in the first case named him and

A man found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice while being held on remand by phoning friends on the outside to bribe a witness not to identify him in an ID parade after he had been accused of attempted murder had his appeal against convicted rejected. The appellant argued that the

The term ‘spouse’ within the meaning of the provisions of EU law on freedom of residence for EU citizens and their family members includes spouses of the same sex, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled. Although the member states have the freedom whether or not to authoris