Opinion

Two new health and safety rulings demonstrate how Scottish courts are increasingly mirroring their English counterparts when determining fines, writes Willie Park. The appeal rulings showed the level of fines the courts will impose seems likely to continue to rise and get closer to levels seen in En

The week ahead sees the battle between the Scottish and UK governments over the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill (GRR) move into court as Scottish ministers seek to overturn the Section 35 Order put in place by the Secretary of State for Scotland, currently blocking the bill from becoming a

As most employers will be aware, the duty to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person applies to workers/employees who have started work, as well as to those seeking work, writes Douglas Strang. Employers must, therefore, consider and comply with the duty to make adjustments when considerin

Peter Littlefair takes a realistic look at the uses of AI for practitioners and its direction of travel. As a smaller legal jurisdiction, Scotland is often behind the United States and England in its take-up of new tech. AI is no different and a range of options are rolled out into firms already. Ho

The death toll for motorcyclists will keep on rising unless the message is changed, writes Thomas Mitchell. Motorcyclists are classed as ‘vulnerable road users’ in the Highway Code and their disproportionate representation of those killed and seriously injured in road traffic collis

Laura Morrison discusses the rise of workcations. Given the predictably unpredictable Scottish climate, it was no surprise to read the results of a YouGov poll published earlier this year. It showed that 37 per cent of UK adults who can work remotely are interested in doing their job from a holiday

The understandable furore over the wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson on a charge of rape in the English High Court has led to calls from many eminent lawyers for a public inquiry. The failures of the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Criminal Cases Review Commission add up to a dis

A recent decision provides much welcome clarity on the application of Qualified One-way Costs Shifting (QOCS), writes Kelly Brotherhood. Some may feel that, like buses, we can wait a long time for an established qualification to the Scottish costs shift in personal injury litigation to turn up. Well

The Faculty of Advocates has in general welcomed the introduction of the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill, much of which recognises and preserves the independence of the legal profession, writes Dean of Faculty, Roddy Dunlop KC. However, as the Scottish Parliament reconvenes this we

Registers of Scotland should devote its resources to addressing the backlog of applications instead of 'Unlocking the Sasine', writes the Scottish Law Agents Society. Amanda Cameron of D M Hall provided a timely reminder of the Scottish government target of having all property on the Land Register b

Douglas Strang looks at a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decision in relation to unlawful discrimination. Higgs v Farmor’s School and others relates to an incident which happened as long ago as October 2018 and it is a separate matter of concern that it has taken the best part of five

As the General Register of Sasines approaches the end of its 400-year reign, big decisions lie ahead for property and land owners, writes Amanda Cameron. Scotland’s General Register of Sasines is the oldest national land register of property interests in the world, having been established

The government has granted a general licence to enable UK lawyers to provide legal advice to non-UK individuals and businesses in relation to their compliance with international sanctions on Russia, without breaching UK sanctions regulations themselves, writes Stacy Keen. UK Russian sanctions r

The final report of the Hearings System Working Group (HSWG) was published on 25th May. The report proposes a significant redesign of the existing children’s hearings system in Scotland. Dr Alyson Evans of the University of Strathclyde, an academic specialist in the children’s hearings s

In the recent case of Tilbury Douglas Construction Limited v Ove Arup & Partners Scotland Limited CA117/21 [2023] CSOH 53 the issue of prescription was revisited by Lord Harrower at a preliminary proof, writes Karen Cornwell. By way of background, the ongoing case involves the development of a f