News

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. What South Africa Really Won at the ICJ

Proposals to reform how legal services are regulated in Scotland have been backed by a majority of MSPs on Holyrood’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill sets out a modernised regulatory framework, which any firm that provides

Laura Patriche and Lauren McFarlane write about the IP issues around music sampling. Music sampling is a practice which involves artists digitally incorporating segments of existing sound recordings into new compositions. Some modern examples include Drake’s Hotline Bling of 2015 which sa

Two students from the University of Dundee made it to the semi finals of the Inner Temple Inter-Varsity Moot Competition on 4 February. Rory Hamilton and Struan Macdonald represented the university at the competition and were the only competitors this year to represent a Scottish university.

A man who allegedly distributed business cards and free samples of cocaine outside of a casino has been charged with drug offences. The cards included contact details for "Alex Lee" and were stapled to small bags of cocaine, according to police in Calgary, Canada.

DWF has appointed Jonathan Kirkwood as a new corporate partner in Edinburgh. With over 24 years of expertise in corporate law, Mr Kirkwood joins DWF as a corporate partner after nearly 15 years at Pinsent Masons.

Staff from Digby Brown raised an impressive £51,976.46 for local causes last year.

The UK National Preventive Mechanism has warned in its annual report that governments across the UK have repeatedly failed to take meaningful action to alleviate human rights concerns in places of detention. Systemic issues continue in detention settings across the UK, which include prisons, police

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have urged ministers to take action to cut deaths in custody after a new report found almost 250 deaths in just a single year. The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice published a new report, Nothing to See Here? Deaths in Custody and FAIs in Scotland-2023, which foun

Emergency and retail workers suffer physical attacks from members of the public on average nearly 60 times every single day in Scotland, according to new research. The findings come as a police officer has been forced to leave her job due to the trauma of attending a crime where she and her colleagu

A ban on the use of snare traps in Scotland has reached a key parliamentary milestone. As part of Stage 2 of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill, the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee voted in favour of environment minister Gillian Martin’s amendment to ban the use of snares.

Blackadders LLP has boosted its Aberdeen residential property team by recruiting Claire Ogston as its new director. Ms Ogston has more than 17 years’ experience in residential property and is an expert in the Aberdeen market having been born, raised and educated in the city. She is joining Bla

Anderson Strathern has bolstered its senior team with the appointment of a partner and a further four directors. The new appointees are partner Kevin McGlone and legal directors Janice Napier and Stephen Clark. Scott Flannigan and Sophia Li have both been promoted to director.

Almost all of Scotland's defence solicitors are prepared to boycott the Scottish government's proposed juryless trials pilot, meaning it will most likely not run. Appearing before MSPs on Holyrood's Justice Committee, Simon Brown, vice-president of the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA), sai

A police officer who sold his trousers online for a miserly sum has been demoted. Owen Hurley, an inspector with Hertfordshire Police, sold his police-issue trousers on Vinted for £4, the BBC reports.