News

A majority of Holyrood's Justice Committee has backed James Kelly MSP’s bill repealing the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act. While strongly condemning sectarian behaviour, the majority of the committee found that the original act was flawed, and other existing law

Neil Stevenson As part of its annual budget consultation, the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) - Scotland’s independent body for complaints about lawyers - has called on members of the public, and legal professionals, to join the discussion about who should pay for the increasing cost o

Ireland's top judge has said judicial training in Scotland is "much more sophisticated" than that offered to the Irish judiciary. The Chief Justice of Ireland, Mr Justice Frank Clarke, told a seminar at NUI Galway that it was "a source of some embarrassment" to him that some Irish judges had to go t

A woman is suing a man acquitted of her rape for £100,000 in damages, The Guardian reports. Stephen Coxen, 23, from Lancashire, who was accused of raping the former St Andrews University student in September 2013, was acquitted at the High Court of Justiciary in 2015.

Organisms obtained by mutagenesis are, in principle, exempted from the obligations in the Genetically Modified Organisms Directive, according to Advocate General Bobek. Member states are free to adopt measures regulating such organisms provided they respect overarching principles of EU law.

Michael O'Flaherty

Professor Alan Miller The new Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership has been urged by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to challenge public bodies to do more to promote human rights.

MSPs representing three Holyrood committees will attend House of Lords talks today on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill and Brexit. The MSPs will set out significant cross-party concerns over clause 11 of the bill and what they regard as a lack of progress from the UK government on amending the bill during i

The European Court of Human Rights is launching a series of five new factsheets. The factsheets concern case law on the themes of access to the Internet and the freedom to receive and impart information; deprivation of citizenship; legal professional privilege; and accompanied and unaccompanied migr

A freight forwarder found guilty of being concerned in the supplying of cocaine who claimed that his detention by police and recovery of his mobile phone was “unlawful” has had an appeal against his conviction refused after he failed to give notice of his objection to the admissibility of the ev

Scotland’s criminal legal aid system could be on the verge of collapse as solicitors working for the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) say they are unprepared for the deluge of calls from suspects requiring legal advice – as guaranteed by legislation due to come into force. On 25 January, new laws

A motorcyclist who was badly injured after being involved in an accident with a lorry has been awarded £100,000 following an eight-day liability proof before Sheriff Katherine EC Mackie in the All Scotland Personal Injury Court. John McIntosh, represented by NewLaw Scotland, was involved in an acci

Ably Resources has appointed Lara Paterson to head up the firm’s newly established legal division. With over 20 years’ experience supporting clients across the UK and internationally, Lara brings a wealth of legal recruitment knowledge.

Photo courtesy of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Pictured (L-R): Stephanie Carr, Karen Fulton, Lindsay Darroch