Case Reports

A transcript of a passage of Tommy Sheridan’s cross-examination of Andrew Coulson during the former MSP’s perjury trial was inadmissible in evidence at the trial of the ex-editor of the News of the World for allegedly making false statements under oath. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that the e

A trainee greenkeeper who was jailed for 21 months after being convicted of assaulting a university student following an argument in a pub has successfully challenged the sentence imposed by a sheriff. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that the offence was not one which ought to have attracted a custo

Donald Trump’s appeal against a judge’s dismissal of his legal challenge to a decision to approve the development of a windfarm near his golf course in Aberdeen Bay has been refused. Trump International Golf Club and the Trump Organization sought judicial review of the decision by the Scottish M

An adoption order granted by a court in Ethiopia is thought to be the first foreign adoption order to been recognised and registered at common law in Scotland. A married man who was granted adoption of the child of his wife’s previous marriage before the couple relocated to Scotland has had the ad

A self-employed stage production manager has been awarded damages of £10,000 after being injured in a fall while unloading the set for a Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the defenders owed the pursuer a duty of care and that they were in breach of that du

Andrew Coulson, the former editor of the defunct tabloid the News of the World, has been acquitted of perjury by a judge at the High Court in Edinburgh. Mr Coulson, 47, the Prime Minister’s former director of communications, was accused of giving “false evidence” in the 2010 perjury trial of e

A Slovakian man wanted by authorities in his home country to serve a prison sentence for a “joy-riding” offence which occurred more than a decade ago will not be extradited. A sheriff ruled that it would be “oppressive” to return him given the passage of time since he committed the “relati

, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels”. “One can see the advantage of that,” Mr Justice Mostyn observed, “in that it would result in consistency across the continent on what is o

A motorist who was sentenced to nine years imprisonment after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving has had his custodial term reduced on appeal. Murray Geddes was jailed for nine years, that period having been reduced by two years to reflect the early plea, and was disqualified from

A former “sapper” who was sentenced to three years imprisonment after being convicted of drugs-related offences has had his custodial reduced on appeal. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that the sentence imposed was “excessive” and reduced it to one of 18 months.

of those proceedings was a “wrongful retention” within the meaning of the Convention, on the basis that the children were “habitually resident” in France immediately before proceedings commenced. A judge in the Outer House concluded that the children were still habitually resident in France

The minimum period of 15 years which certain sex offenders subject to mandatory notification requirements must wait before seeking a review does not breach their human rights, appeal judges have ruled. The Inner House of the Court of Session held that the review provisions applicable to indefinite n

A patient at a psychiatric treatment facility who sought judicial review over the failure by the Scottish Government to draft and lay regulations to allow him to challenge the level of security of his detention has had his petition dismissed. The UK Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that the failure by th

A man who sought to a publish a book detailing the his life including details of severe physical and sexual abuse but whose first wife opposed its publication on the basis it would cause psychological harm to their child has won his appeal at the UK Supreme Court. President of the Supreme Court Lord

A man charged with a number of contraventions of the Road Traffic Act 1988, including drink-driving and driving while disqualified, has failed in a bid to have the case against him dismissed over the delay in bringing him to trial. The Criminal Appeal Court upheld a sheriff’s decision to refuse th