News

The use of electronic cigarettes will be banned in Scottish hospitals in Scotland in the coming weeks. New laws mean NHS boards must ensure their premises are smoke-free by April.

A date has been announced for the establishment of the new Scottish Sentencing Council (SSC). The Scottish government has confirmed that the SSC will be established by October this year with a view to having a first meeting in November.

An oil company is suing the Scottish Government over claims its property is being contaminated by “hazardous chemicals” released from land used for the M74 extension. Esso Petroleum wants the Scottish Ministers to take action to prevent further escapes and is seeking damages for the cost of moni

A seriously injured girl whose contributory negligence in a car accident was assessed at 70 per cent in a decision of an Extra Division of the Inner House of the Court of Session and whose share of damages was calculated accordingly has won an appeal against the assessment by a majority of 3-2 in th

DNA tests in family courts will be provided across England from later this year, justice minister Simon Hughes (pictured) has announced. This follows two pilot schemes in Taunton and Bristol which were set up following anecdotal evidence that courtroom arguments led to delays in divorce cases, parti

The Law Society of Scotland has published new equality standards for the legal profession along with a guide on carrying out an equal pay audit.The new standards and guide for law firms and other organisations employing solicitors follows publication of the Law Society’s third three-year equality

Fraud in Scotland increased by 67 per cent in 2014 compared to the previous year at the same time that fraud levels were falling across the UK according to the latest BDO FraudTrack which examines all reported fraud cases over £50,000 in the UK. The total value increased by £4,074,500 from £6,055

Paul Jennings (left) and John Perry

The Crofting Commission has confirmed that it has withdrawn its appeal to the Court of Session in connection with the Scottish Land Court’s decision of 18 December 2014 in the case of MacGillivray v Crofting Commission. That case concerned the Crofting Commission’s policy on decrofting where a c

The Law Society of Scotland has paid tribute to former chief accountant and deputy chief executive, Leslie Cumming (pictured), who passed away last week. Mr Cumming joined the Law Society as its chief accountant in 1984 and remained for 22 years until his retirement in 2006.

A police constable who was injured while playing the role of an attacker during an officer safety training course has had a claim for damages refused by a judge in the Court of Session. Debbie Stevenson was “strangling” a colleague on the floor of a gym when she was thrown off during an exercise

An application to secure EU-protected designation of origin status for rapeseed oil is to be submitted in the coming weeks. There are now eight brands of virgin cold-pressed rapeseed oil in Scotland.

A New Jersey judge has ruled that gay conversion therapy is fraudulent. Peter Variso Jr, Hudson County superior county court judge said in his ruling on a case concerning a group called Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) that the claims are illegal as per the state’s Consumer Fraud

The body overseeing civil courts has recommended that an online court be created to deal with claims up to £25,000. The Civil Justice Council has proposed lawyer-free, virtual dispute resolution courts to be made available within two years.

The UK government has been urged to widen the ambit of its child sex abuse inquiry to the entire UK rather than just England and Wales. A Home Affairs committee report called for the inquiry to cover Scotland and Northern Ireland, including the claims of abuse at Kincora Boys’ Homein Belfast in th