News

Assistant inspector of constabulary in Scotland Gillian Imery QPM is to be appointed HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland. As chief inspector of constabulary, Mrs Imery will lead HM Inspectorate of Constabulary Scotland (HMICS) to deliver an annual programme of independent inspection, moni

The latest publication of the monthly UK House Price Index shows that the average price of a property in Scotland in January 2018 was £148,512 – an increase of 7.3 per cent on January in the previous year and an increase of 1.4 per cent when compared to the previous month. T his compares to a UK

Research from the University of Loughborough, commissioned by the Law Society of England and Wales, has found that the legal aid means test is preventing families in poverty from accessing justice. The research shows that people on incomes already 10 per cent to 30 per cent below the minimum income

Over 150 leading Scottish authors - including Ian Rankin, Karen Campbell and Christopher Brookmyre - journalists, activists and citizens from across the world have signed a letter calling on the Scottish government to bring forward a bill to reform defamation law in Scotland. The letter calls on leg

J Gordon Reid QC FCIArb, a former Temporary Judge of the Court of Session and convener of the Faculty Dispute Resolution Service has passed away at the age of 65. Mr Reid was a solicitor for four years before becoming a member of Faculty in 1980. He took silk in 1993. He ceased practising last year.

Forestry in Scotland will be fully devolved to the Scottish Parliament after MSPs backed the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Bill. Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said the bill’s modern approach to forestry development, support and regulation will enable the Scottish government to bet

Law students at Aberdeen University last night launched volume 8 of the Aberdeen Student Law Review, sponsored by Stronachs LLP and Dentons.Editors-in-chief Ezgi Ediboğlu and Kieran Buxton discussed the road to publication while some of the contributors discussed their articles.

The Sheriff Principal has issued a Practice Note (No.1 of 2018) in relation to applications under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (“the 2000 Act”). It applies to all applications lodged at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on or after 9 April 2018. The Practice Note does not alter the pract

David Woods

The Law Society of Scotland has called on the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission to embrace major changes to the way it administers legal complaints in a bid to avoid an above inflation hike in costs. The SLCC has proposed a 5.2 per cent rise in its draft budget for 2018/19. A proposed rise of up

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has dismissed, by a 6-1 majority, a request to revise its 1978 ruling that fourteen men interned in Northern Ireland in the 1970s were subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, but not torture. Ireland sought the revision in 2014 after an RTÉ programme

The Philippines has given official notification to the United Nations of its intention to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC). It comes a month after the ICC announced it was opening a preliminary examination into allegations that thousands of extra-judicial killings have taken plac

An international law firm specialising in class action litigation has invited students to join a group action against universities to reclaim part of their tuition fees because of strike action. Shimon Goldwater, an associate at Asseron, told The Times that the UCU strike over pensions has meant "se