News

House prices continued to rise in the third quarter of 2014-15, according to official statistics published today by Registers of Scotland (RoS). The average house price in Scotland in the third quarter was £165,197, up 3.4 per cent on the same period in 2013.

Plans to introduce legislation to create a more accessible, affordable and equitable civil justice system for Scotland have been set out by Scottish ministers. A consultation on proposals for primary legislation on the expenses and funding of civil litigation has been published, with all those invol

The European Court of Human Rights(ECtHR) has ruled the whole-life sentence imposed on a murderer and rapist who challenged his sentence on the basis it infringes his human rights is competent because a mechanism for review of such sentences exists. British citizen Arthur Hutchinson was the first pr

Additional specialist prosecutors are to be introduced, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has said in its strategic plan. COPFS said it would consider bringing in more specialist units to deal with a rise in complex cases.

The Law Society of Scotland has reported a rise in the number of traineeships available for aspiring solicitors. Following a slight decrease the previous year, an 11 per cent rise in the number of traineeships started in 2013/14 indicates improving prospects for Scotland’s future lawyers.

Long term prisoners will no longer be eligible for automatic early release after two thirds of their sentence following first minister Nicola Sturgeon's announcement of an end to the current system of automatic early release for all offenders serving more than four years. Ms Sturgeon (pictured) said

A judge in the High Court who threatened a man with imprisonment for failing to maintain divorce payments has been recused from a case for showing excessive hostility and using “intemperate” language. Sir Nicholas Mostyn (pictured) was removed from the case which concerned the former wife ofbusi

It has emerged that the chair of the police watchdog, who earned £90,000 last year, submitted claims of hundreds of pounds to attend the funerals of victims of the Clutha helicopter disaster. Vic Emery, the Scottish Police Authority’s chair (pictured), made the claims for expenses to attend the f

A new legal education programme is set for expansion in Scottish schools. Following the success of the Law Society of Scotland’s pilot programme, schools across the country from Aberdeen to Ayrshire have signed up to take part in Street Law, which aims to bring the law to life in the classroom by

The Law Society of Scotland is seeking feedback from members in order to gauge how many Scottish solicitors could be affected by new regulations for letting agents set out under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014. The Scottish government is in the process of preparing to implement a new scheme for the

Edinburgh-headquartered law firm Gillespie Macandrew is planning to open a Glasgow office in March. The firm opened its first office outside Edinburgh in Perth in 2012.

Proposed changes to legal aid will deny justice to some of the most vulnerable people in society, according to Shelter Scotland. The housing and homelessness charity said it has “grave concerns” about proposals put forward by the Law Society of Scotland to remove some aspects of housing law from

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service(COPFS) published its Strategic Plan 2015-2018 today. The document describes what Scotland’s prosecution service aims to deliver over the three-year period; and the underlying priorities.

A human rights expert has called for the police’s stop and search policy to be brought to an end as it raises serious legal concerns. Professor Alan Miller (pictured), chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) said that so-called "suspicioneless" stop-and-searches, which comprise one th

A father of four who without leave to appeal sought to challenge a residence order granted by a sheriff has had his appeal refused. Judges in the Inner House of the Court of Session agreed with the Sheriff Principal’s conclusion that the appeal fell to be dismissed as “incompetent”.