News

Public law expert Lynda Towers provides a realistic overview of where we are on the path to Brexit. For some of us there is something comforting about putting together a list of things which need to be done and by when. There is then the satisfaction of ticking the items off as done and seeing the l

The Law Society of Scotland has welcomed Lord Bracadale's report on hate crime and his recommendations for new statutory aggravations. Gillian Mawdsley, solicitor in the Law Society of Scotland's policy team, said the review was timely "given the incidence and publicity of crimes and offences motiva

Compass Chambers has welcomed Gavin Anderson as its newest member after he joined today. Mr Anderson comes with a wealth of regulatory crime experience particularly in relation to health & safety, environmental and corporate crime, and has extensive experience of fatal accident inquiries.

Arbitration specialist Brandon Malone has been made an associate member of Quadrant Chambers in London. Mr Malone has over 25 years’ experience in commercial dispute resolution as arbitrator and counsel, specialising in construction, engineering, infrastructure, and energy, including oil and g

Solicitor Nicholas Ian Cooper has been appointed as a non-executive director at Springfield Properties. Mr Cooper, 54, is a qualified solicitor with over 20 years’ board experience as an executive and non-executive director, general counsel and company secretary with UK-listed and private comp

Human rights organisation Reprieve has called for a judge-led public inquiry to establish the full extent of Britain's involvement in the rendition and torture of Abdul Hakim Belhaj and Fatima Boudchar by the CIA following anti-torture rulings yesterday from the European Court of Human Rig

The court service has maintained a strong fines collection rate, new figures show. Eighty-six per cent of the value of Sheriff Court fines imposed during the three-year period between 1st April 2014 and 31 March 2017 have either been paid or are on track to be paid consistent with the figure at 17 J

A judge has appeared in court after allegedly viewing a case file she has a person interest in, The Register reports. Her Honour Judge Karen Jane Holt appeared at Southwark Crown Court this week over allegations she viewed the file for one Cecil McCready in September 2016.

Denmark has joined other European countries in banning garments that cover the face, including the burqa and niqab in a move described as “neither necessary nor proportionate”. The law, presented by the centre-right governing coalition, was passed 75-30 yesterday, with the Danish governm

A man found guilty of sexual offences against two children almost 17 years apart has had his conviction quashed following an appeal. The High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court ruled that the similarities between the offences were not “sufficiently compelling” to overcome the “very s

There should be new statutory aggravations in relation to gender and age as protected characteristics, according to a review on hate crime submitted to Scottish ministers today. Lord Bracadale's review sets out recommendations in relation to the suite of laws covering hate crime offences in Scotland

Holyrood has passed a new law that stops Shetland being put in a box on maps of Scotland. Under the Islands (Scotland) Bill, Scottish government bodies will not be able to include Shetland in a box.

A man who claimed Romania allowed the United States Central Intelligence Agency to transport him to a detention site under its secret extraordinary rendition programme and subject him to ill-treatment and arbitraty detention suffered violations of his rights under the ECHR, the European Court of Hum

A Digby Brown partner has become the first solicitor in Scotland to be accredited as a specialist in both brain injury and spinal cord injury. Moira Kay, who has been with the firm’s serious injury department for over 13 years, received the accolade from the Association of Personal Injury Lawy

Matthew Stimson considers the ramifications of the Stage 1 Report on the Planning (Scotland) Bill. On 17 May 2018, the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee published its Stage 1 Report on the Planning (Scotland) Bill.