Case Reports

The burden of proof establishing that a proposed marriage is one of convenience falls on the Secretary of State, justices in the Supreme Court have ruled. An EU citizen with a permanent right of residence in a host member state may have that right removed ‘in the case of abuse of rights or fraud,

A prisoner found guilty of assaulting a fellow inmate has had an appeal against his conviction refused after claiming the sheriff misdirected the jury over accused’s silence in response to the accusation that he carried out the attack. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary rejected the

A law firm which claimed that a former client had waived his right to bring a damages action against them after the expiry of the three-year time bar had its appeal refused. The Inner House of the Court of Session upheld a decision of the Lord Ordinary, who rejected the firm’s argument that the te

A Latvian man convicted of shooting a police officer in the head with a pellet gun who challenged a decision by the Home Secretary to remove him from the UK on the basis that he had lived in the country for more than ten years has had his appeal against the deportation order dismissed. The Inner Hou

A man found guilty of being involved in serious organised crime who claimed he was denied a fair trial because the Crown accepted a plea from one of the co-accused in the presence of the jury has had an application for permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court refused. Michael Stuart claimed that

A woman who was assaulted by her mother when she was a baby has failed in an appeal against a decision to refuse her claim for criminal injuries compensation. The Inner House of the Court of Session held that it was within the Government’s discretion for “socio-economic policy” reasons not to

A Scots lawyer whose firm overcharged clients and took fees to which it was not entitled has been struck off the solicitors’ roll. Alison Greer, 51, a cashroom partner in the firm, was found guilty of professional misconduct by the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) over a course of

Prosecutors successfully challenged a sheriff’s decision to refuse a vulnerable witness application made on behalf of a complainer in an assault case who said he was “terrified” of seeing the two woman accused of attacking him. The application was opposed because it was lodged too late, but th

An e-cigarette company whose trade mark was declared “invalid” because it was similar to that of a rival brand with a previously registered trade mark has had an appeal against the decision dismissed by a judge in the Court of Session. The case of CCHG Limited t/a Vapourized v Vapouriz Limited i

Two businessman found guilty of extortion following a violent assault and abduction who claimed that the trial judge’s speech to the jury had been “unbalanced” in favour of the prosecution have had their appeals against conviction dismissed. Refusing the appeal, the Appeal Court of the High Co

A woman who challenged a ban imposed by three Belgian municipalities on wearing clothing concealing the face in public suffered no discrimination, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. In today’s Chamber judgment in the case of Dakir v Belgium the European Court of Human Rights held, unani

A prisoner has been granted permission to pursue a legal action against prison authorities for opening letters addressed to him. The so-called “Limbs in the Loch” murderer William Beggs is seeking £5,000 damages from the Scottish Ministers over the “unlawful” opening of his personal corresp

A Scottish man accused of committing first-degree murder in Florida has had his complaints to Strasbourg that his Convention rights would be violated if he were extradited declared inadmissible. The case Harkins v the United Kingdom concerned the extradition of a British national to the US to face t

A Syrian man who had been granted refugee status in Bulgaria but claimed that to send him back there from the UK would breach his human rights has had his legal challenged dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session upheld a decision by the Secretary of State for the Home Department to certify the cl

A sheriff has ruled that a family home that was built on a plot of land owned by one party to a marriage but which was not matrimonial property could be valued separately from the land for the purposes of calculating financial provision on divorce. The pursuer claimed that when the house was built o