Features

Sheriffs across Scotland make decisions every day in contact/residence cases that will affect the lives of children not just for this month or this year but will influence their relationships for the rest of their life. Their decisions are made ‘in the best interests of the child’. But h

As is my wont, I will try to avoid ambiguity – the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill is, in part, dangerous and not just because some of the drafting is appalling. I will not comment on the whole bill but on a few aspects.I am not suggesting that there is no roo

In the case of Kirkwood v Thelem Insurance, 2023, the Inner House of the Court of Session shone a light on the recoverability of English solicitors’ costs for a litigation conducted in Scotland before the Court of Session, write Mark Hastings and Gavin Aitken.

From 1678, a handful of perjurers claimed that the Catholics of England planned to assassinate the king. As a result of their disgraceful work between November 1678 and July 1681, at least 17 Catholics, lay and clergy, died as traitors on the scaffold, and not in the easiest of circumstances. Many o

Life in plastic, may not always be fantastic… The Barbie® brand faces a trademark dispute just as the blockbuster movie of the year is released, writes Amy McSkimming. The makers behind the Barbie® doll filed a notice of opposition to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office challeng

In July 2018, the Judicial Protocol Regulating Direct Judicial Communications between Scotland, and England and Wales, in Children’s Cases was first published. The 2018 Protocol was accompanied by a helpful and detailed Handbook on family law relating to children in Scotland and in England &am

There is an aphorism to the effect that history is past politics, and politics is present history. In this study, journalist Phil Tinline considers some of the events, over the first century of mass democracy, when politics lurched from crisis to crisis. The aim is see how this history of political

Kate Darracott looks at the proposed reforms by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to the UK's listing rules aimed at making UK stock markets more attractive to businesses seeking to raise capital, and how they may make the UK listing regime more competitive, particularly for early-stage, high-gr

Marcus Di Rollo discusses housing issues in Scotland, from a shortfall of homes and rising rents to the impact of government policies on landlords and the construction of new homes. In recent weeks, we’ve heard about a handful of city centre properties in Glasgow being turned into student acco

There is an epidemic happening on Scotland’s roads. Road defects, especially potholes, have been blamed for 15 deaths and over 700 injuries since 2013 according to figures obtained from Police Scotland. Any death on Scotland’s roads is a tragedy, but the occurrence is even more tragic wh

The brutal deaths of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Burke, Chief Secretary and Permanent Under-Secretary for Ireland respectively, took place on Saturday 6 May, 1882 in Phoenix Park, Dublin. Both were strolling together after a busy time following their recent appointments. The murders were car

Michael Upton, FCIArb, advocate, mediator & arbitrator, discusses an aspect of the Scottish Law Commission’s Discussion Paper No. 175, on Heritable Securities: Non-monetary securities and sub-securities, to which the commission is now seeking responses. As you may know, in the context of h

The Supreme Court has handed down its decision in the appeal of McCulloch & Ors v Forth Valley Health Board [2023] UKSC 26. The court was asked to decide on the extent to which a doctor is required, under a duty of care owed to a patient, to inform the patient about possible alternative treatmen

Elizabeth Rose and Craig Christie assess the Supreme Court’s decision in McCulloch v Forth Valley Health Board and the impact of the decision on one’s consent to medical treatment. The Supreme Court has finally answered the question on everyone’s lips since the landmark decision in

In 2019, Gillian Treasurer was on the cusp of moving from Wales to take up the coveted role of Scottish Rugby Union’s legal head when she got news that turned her world upside down. “For about a year I’d been feeling absolutely exhausted and quite ill and the day before I left Wale