News

The backlog in the Scottish criminal courts has reduced by 7,500 trials since the start of the year, according to new figures. The latest monthly workbook from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) shows the overall level of new cases registered in July 2022 was 78 per cent of the average

A public consultation is seeking views on formal debt recovery mechanisms (diligence) and statutory debt solutions such as moratorium protection, bankruptcy, protected trust deeds and the debt arrangement scheme. The consultation, running until 7 October 2022, forms part of a wide-ranging review ann

Police hunting for a convicted car thief have said they found him hiding inside a giant teddy bear. Joshua Dobson, 18, fled after being sentenced to nine months' imprisonment for theft of a motor vehicle, driving while disqualified and making off from a petrol station without payment.

Lawyers acting for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have filed a lawsuit against the CIA over the agency's alleged surveillance of their confidential discussions with their client. The suit has been brought in New York by attorneys Margaret Ratner Kunstler and Deborah Hrbek, along with journalists C

Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull is to be appointed as a Senator of the College of Justice next year. On his appointment, Sheriff Principal Aisha Anwar, currently the sheriff principal of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway, will transfer to his current Sheriffdom of Glasgow and Strathkelvin.

Prominent solicitor Cat MacLean has been appointed to the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland (JABS). Ms MacLean, a partner and head of dispute resolution at MBM Commercial LLP, has been appointed as a legal member for a four-year term until 31 May 2026.

It's hardly a surprise that the article in yesterday's Times (also covered in Scottish Legal News) concerning implanting electronic chips into lawyers' brains has been met with incredulity from the readers of that venerable organ. The readers' comments are mostly along the lines of "this must be a s

Human rights lawyer Kavita Chetty has joined the Scottish government as deputy director for human rights and mainstreaming. Ms Chetty, formerly head of legal and strategy at the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC), has been appointed on a fixed-term basis for up to three years.

Power has been restored in Edinburgh Sheriff Court after an outage yesterday afternoon forced the adjournment of some business. In a statement issued yesterday at 3pm, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) said all business for Edinburgh Sheriff and JP Court "has been adjourned for the re

Parliamentary privilege would be extended to members of the Scottish Parliament under plans set out by Liz Truss ahead of a Tory leadership hustings in Perth this evening. At present, MSPs — like members of the devolved assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland — do not have the same free

The Upper Tribunal for Scotland has refused an appeal by a landlord against an order requiring him to comply with a Repairing Standard Enforcement Order after he challenged the appropriateness of leaving the order in place. Mohammed Arshad, the appellant, argued that it was not possible to carry out

A coffee tycoon has been forced to withdraw his bid to become San Francisco's next district attorney after city officials pointed out he had to be an attorney first. Austin Hills, whose family founded Hills Bros Coffee in the late 19th century, had already submitted nomination papers for the upcomin

The Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain QC, visited Safe Harbour Inverclyde last week, a charity which supports people to improve their emotional wellbeing.  

Amnesty International has said it will conduct an internal review following a high-profile row over a report accusing Ukraine's armed forces of endangering civilians. A press release issued by the human rights organisation on Thursday 4 August said researchers had found "evidence of Ukrainian forces

The Fox Corporation is facing an unprecedented $1.6 billion defamation suit from a voting systems company falsely accused of rigging the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump. Dominion Voting Systems alleges that Fox-owned TV channels broadcast a large number of false and far-fetched state