News

Ambitious moves to transfer ownerless properties which have fallen to the Crown into public control to benefit communities across Scotland have been unveiled today. The King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer (KLTR) has, today, launched a consultation on his proposals for a new “O

Four murder accused will be released from prison as the barristers' strike has delayed their trial. The suspects, who cannot be named, were remanded in custody in February after having been charged with the murder of Keith Green in Banbury in Oxfordshire.

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. China 'ready for the fight' if Xinjiang motion is brought to UN rights body

The Scottish government has paid For Women Scotland (FWS) £147,500 after the group won a case against ministers earlier this year. The government had attempted to redefine “woman” in the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 and allow transgender women to occup

Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee has today launched a new inquiry examining firearms licensing in Scotland, following the recent tragedy on the Isle of Skye. The responsibility for gun control rests with the Home Office, while policing is a devolved matter. As such, local police forces handl

Holyrood's Criminal Justice Committee is seeking views as part of its pre-budget scrutiny. The publication of the Scottish government’s Resource Spending Review Framework in May set out possible spending of £11.6 billion on the justice sector over the next four financial years.

There is a significant gap between what children and young people want, and need, from their lawyers, and what they usually experience, according to new findings from Clan Childlaw. A study commissioned by the charity also found that lack of access to legal advice has major and often long-term reper

A Lord Ordinary has reduced the decision of a local authority to close down a day service in Hawick for sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease after a petition for judicial review was raised by a former service user. Petitioner AB, the son and guardian of service user CD, argued that the decision of

Plans to require EU nationals crossing the border into Northern Ireland to apply for electronic travel authorisations in advance raise serious human rights and equality concerns, Ireland's Oireachtas has been told. In an address to the Houses of the Oireachtas, Sinéad Gibney, chief commission

Ireland has filed an intervention at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as a third party in the case taken by Ukraine against the Russian Federation under the Genocide Convention. Ukraine instituted proceedings against the Russian Federation in February. In its application to the court, Ukrain

A popular online shooter is set to be banned by the Taliban for "promoting violence". PUBG: Battlegrounds, one of the most successful video games of all time with a player base of tens of millions of people worldwide, has previously been accused by the Taliban of "[causing] the young generation to g

Gillespie Macandrew has announced the appointment of five newly qualified (NQ) solicitors following their completion of its two-year legal traineeship programme. The NQ solicitors will be joining the firm’s commercial property, corporate, employment, planning and residential property teams. An

The Law Society of Scotland is stepping up its efforts to lead and support the legal sector in tackling the climate crisis by launching a new Sustainability Committee. The Sustainability Committee will continue and expand on the work of the Law Society’s COP26 and Climate Change Working Group

Macdonald Henderson has advised financial solutions provider Opulus Financial on the acquisition of Glasgow-based Nicolson Accountancy, in its largest acquisition since launching at the end of last year. Founded by Angus and Sue Nicolson more than 20 years ago, Nicolson Accountancy has offices in Gl

The number of solicitors on the roll has hit a record high, according to the Law Society's latest figures. Its annual statistics report shows that there were 209,215 solicitors on the roll as at 31 July 2021, up nearly 7,000 on the previous year.