Case Reports

The European court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the rights of clandestine migrants from Tunisia were violated when they were detained after landing on the Italian coast in the midst of the "Arab Spring" in 2011. The case concerned the migrants' detention in a reception centre on the island

A Scots lawyer who failed in his duties under the CML Handbook and at common law to provide material information to lenders in conveyancing transactions has been found guilty of “professional misconduct”. The Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal(SSDT) censured David Clark and restricted his p

A disabled woman who challenged a health board’s decision to cease providing homeopathic treatment has had a petition for judicial review dismissed.

A man who was given a community payback order with restrictions on his internet use after being convicted of an attempt at “communicating indecently with an older child” has failed in an appeal against sentence. The appellant argued that the sheriff’s intention to restrict his “misuse” of

A trade union which challenged the introduction of fees for claimants to pursue employment tribunals has had an appeal for judicial review of the policy refused. Unison argued that the decline in the number of cases being brought to tribunal was due to claimants now having to pay anything up to £1,

A Scots lawyer has successfully challenged a decision of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland to uphold a complaint of “unsatisfactory conduct” made against him. Alan Strain was ordered to pay a fine of £1,000 after he was found to have made a “misrepresentation” to a client in prepar

The Crown has successfully challenged a sheriff’s decision to acquit a man of breaching a non-harassment order. James Murphy was accused of breaching the order by approaching the complainer, but the sheriff at Ayr found that while there was an “encounter” between the respondent and the woman,

Budget airline Ryanair has been told it cannot impose a two-year time limit on passengers' claims for compensation for long and unnecessary delays. Judge Platts at Manchester County Court ruled that the time limit could not be applied, referring to a Supreme Court ruling last year which said all air

A Scots lawyer who removed files from her firm’s office over fears her fellow partner in the business may be made bankrupt and following a breakdown in their working relationship has been found not guilty of professional misconduct. Lynsey McLean decided to take matters into her own hands and remo

A man accused of fraud has successfully challenged a sheriff’s decision to order his extradition to Poland after the Criminal Appeal Court ruled that the offence he was accused of was “minor”. The judges allowed the appeal after ruling that it would be “disproportionate” to extradite him,

A Scottish lawyer who was ordered to pay compensation to clients after he was found to have provided an “inadequate professional service” in relation to the advice he gave following their purchase of a house has had an appeal against the complaints body’s finding refused. Judges in the Inner H

The right to cross-examination of an alleged sexual assault victim “does not extend to insulting or intimidating a witness” and trial judges should intervene where questioning “strays beyond proper bounds”, the Lord Justice Clerk has said. Lord Carloway added that defence lawyers should show

The Criminal Appeal Court has published its opinion following the refusal of an application by relatives of Lockerbie bombing victims who were seeking to pursue an appeal on behalf of the man convicted of the atrocity in which 270 people were killed. An application to the Scottish Criminal Cases Rev

A Scottish solicitor who entered into a sexual relationship with a “vulnerable” client has been found guilty of professional misconduct. The unnamed lawyer was fined £5,000 by the Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) for “acting in a manner that raised issues as to his trustworthine

The man charged with the murder of Irish student Karen Buckley pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday. Alexander Pacteau, 21, admitted grabbing Ms Buckley by the neck and hitting her repeatedly with a spanner while sitting in his parked car in the early hours of Sunday 12 April.