News

The Scottish government’s cladding remediation programme continues to generate law reform with the announcement yesterday that the Single Building Assessment (SBS) programme will be expanded. The pilot SBS scheme, designed to replace the EWS1 external wall assessment process in Scotland, came

To coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week 2022, the Scottish Sentencing Council has published a new research report reviewing the challenges of and approaches to sentencing offenders with mental health issues. The literature review, carried out by a group of expert academics from universities ac

Thompsons Solicitors Scotland is moving closer to its south west Scotland clients after opening a new office in Dumfries town centre. The office, based on Buccleuch Street, will bring Thompsons’ specialist personal injury and “On Demand” referral services to the region and will mea

A consultation on "improving victims’ experiences of the justice system", with a particular focus on sexual offences, has opened. It takes forward the work of the Victims Taskforce and Programme for government commitments to: establish a Victims’ Commissioner, introduce a statutory right

It is difficult to disagree with the sentiments expressed in the editorial about the actions of Messrs Jackson and McConnachie who have damaged the reputation of the legal profession in Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates in particular. There will be those who would wish these two to be removed as

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. UN Human Rights Council to examine alleged human rights abuses by Russia

Westwater Advocates’ Desmond Cheyne has successfully sought specific issue orders under section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, on behalf of the child concerned. The case involved a 13-year-old child who had obtained refugee status along with her three sisters to remain in Scotland aft

Suella Braverman, the UK government's chief law officer, has reportedly advised ministers that unilateral action on the Northern Ireland Protocol would now be lawful because it is causing "societal unrest". The attorney general said previous advice which said overriding the agreement would breach in

The UK Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by a mail order company seeking repayment from HMRC of sums it claimed should have been regarded as recoverable VAT. Zipvit Ltd, which had mistakenly never been charged VAT for use of a special mail service provided by Royal Mail, argued that part of thei

Declassified files from the 1970s show the UK government planned to discredit Amnesty International in response to its investigative work on British forces' use of torture in Northern Ireland. An internal Foreign Office memo dating from December 1971 proposes that the government should leak details

It's just over a year since the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) was founded to represent the interests of criminal lawyers, and the organisation and its inaugural president Julia McPartlin have had a busy time since then. The SSBA was launched during a challenging period. The profession w

Terra Firma will present a Private Client seminar at the Mackenzie Building, Old Assembly Close, Edinburgh on Thursday 16th June 2022. The seminar will feature talks by Philip Simpson QC on inheritance tax and Fergus Colquhoun on liferents.

An internet celebrity dubbed "China's most handsome man" is suing social media users for suggesting his looks are his only quality. Zhaxi Dingzhen, a 21-year-old Tibetan yak herder, became China's biggest online influencer a year-and-a-half ago after social media users swooned over a short clip of h

Spain is set to introduce up to three days of menstrual leave for women suffering from painful periods, according to reports. The move, expected to be including in a forthcoming bill extending abortion rights to 16 and 17-year-olds, will make Spain the first country in the European Union to introduc

Elaine Motion, one of Scotland’s leading constitutional lawyers, has joined a new body designed to raise the standard of democratic debate in the UK. The Institute for Constitutional and Democratic Research (ICDR) was created by a group of legal experts, academics, business leaders and campaig