Features

Simon Allison, in infancy fearful of homicidal maniac and doyen of the Dark Side, Darth Vader, now truly appreciates how the Sith lord – a force of personality – led from the front. As a five-year old boy, an older child doing the mouth-breathing noises of Darth Vader in the playground w

The UK and US have agreed to enhance their cooperation in implementing financial sanctions, in a bid to maximise the impact of the measures imposed on Russia, as well as to ease the compliance burden for business, writes Stacy Keen. The US and UK treasuries already work together to develop common ap

Jade Blair explains some of the differences in terminology used in Scotland and in England when awarding a successful party their expenses (or should that be costs). I find that the grammar fiend in my laptop has boldly underlined my use of “outwith” in the above heading indicating that

Richard Gray, partner and head of corporate at Belfast law firm Carson McDowell, welcomes new clarity on creditor duty. The UK Supreme Court considered the existence, content, and engagement of ‘creditor duty’ for the first time ever in the matter of BTI 2014 LLC (Appellant) v Sequana SA

Tackling climate change is an important component of policy agendas across the UK and more broadly on a global scale, writes Tarik Elhadidi. The UK government has set an ambitious target of a four-fold increase in offshore renewable energy by 2030, a key pillar in the country’s 2050 net-zero t

Keeper of the Advocates Library, Neil Mackenzie, details the work of the Faculty of Advocates’ Free Legal Services Unit. The Faculty of Advocates has a long history of promoting access to justice to those who cannot afford to pay for legal advice and representation.In England, Magna Carta

As a court practitioner, you sometimes get the impression that the manner in which you express your client's case in writing doesn't matter as much as it used to, writes Ling Deng. The court can be very accommodating to a party whose case is expressed in slightly opaque terms. The recent judgment of

The Court of Session has confirmed that courts will enforce any alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provisions which are written into contracts and will uphold the power and discretion of the decision makers in those processes, writes Steven Blane. Lord Lake’s opinion demonstrates that t

Imagine if you couldn’t make decisions yourself. Who would act on your behalf? Who’d pay bills, manage your welfare, and make key decisions? That’s the role of your attorney. The breadth of the control an attorney can have over your affairs couldn’t have been starker in a cas

Lynsey Brown discusses surrogacy regimes and the confusion they often cause. Surrogacy is still relatively rare in Scotland and the UK, but lawyers who specialise in this area are seeing a steady increase in enquiries from prospective surrogates and intended parents.

Ann Logan details calls for an inquiry into the use of sodium valproate (SV), used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder, on pregnant women and the suggested avenues of redress. SV, known by Epilim and other brand names, has been prescribed in the UK since 1972. It was known from the outset to be h

The right to education is protected by Article 2, Protocol 1 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Article 14 ECHR prevents the government discriminating against people exercising this right. However, the Scottish government’s Students' Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2007 have been fo

Leah Trueblood, career development fellow in public law at Worcester College, University of Oxford, carefully examines the bill on everyone's mind.  What is the purpose of the referendum proposed in the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill? Is it, as s 1 (1) of the Bill itself says &lsquo

Last week, news of an accident involving Scottish record-breaking cyclist, Christina MacKenzie, spread through the cycling community and beyond. Christina holds the women’s record for cycling from Land’s End to John o’Groats in 51 hours and 5 minutes and the NC500 Women’s rec

There’s a chilly wind blowing around many of our farmhouse doors. With some 80 per cent of Scotland’s land under agricultural production and the agri-food sector now the largest area of manufacturing in the UK, farmers and growers are currently facing new threats to their livelihoods not