News

The Inner House of the Court of Session has refused a reclaiming motion challenging a decision to allow a petition for rectification of a Deed of Conditions relating to a parking garage in Edinburgh to proceed to a proof. Lothian Amusements Ltd, the 57th respondent to the petition raised b

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has denied claims it gave false assurances that a sheriff court was safe to attend last December following a Covid-19 outbreak. Seven members of staff at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court self-isolated before Christmas after testing positive for

Many will think of defamation as the primary recourse in battles between public figures and those who seek to comment on them but a recent High Court decision in England and Wales (Sussex v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2021] EWHC 273 (Ch)) shows that, under the right circumstances, protection of priva

A major court defeat for oil and gas giant Shell could herald the end of "a long chapter of impunity" for multinationals implicated in human rights abuses overseas, lawyers and campaigners have said. The UK Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Ogale and Bille communities in the Niger Delta can bri

BPP University Law School is to offer students what is believed to be the first class in making small talk, The Times reports. Georgie Nightingall, who is running the course in chitchat and networking, said that while small talk is often maligned, it is important for social advancement.

The founder of a theatre group which helps people battling addiction has won the 2021 Robert Burns Humanitarian Award. Mark Williamson won the award recently during a special online ceremony.

The recent Inner House opinion in Ogilvie Homes Limited v Scottish Ministers [2021] CSIH 8 highlights the role of the court in the interpretation of development plan policies. In accepting the arguments presented by Terra Firma's Douglas Armstrong QC, the court concluded that the Scottish minis

The appointment of three senators on the same day next week will be a judicial first. Craig Sandison QC, Shona Haldane QC and Martin Richardson QC will take their oaths of office in the First Division Courtroom, Court 1, next Monday.

Bereaved families dealing with banks to settle the finances of loved ones have suffered "unacceptable mistakes" during probate, according to research carried out in England and Wales by consumer body Which?. Customers have reported banks losing death certificates or failing to close the account of s

A criminal case concerning the alleged theft of slippers worth around €20 has been concluded after eight years and around €3,000 in costs. The long-running case in Palermo, the capital of the Italian region of Sicily, has been held up as an example of trivial cases clogging up the island's

A man who was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in a takeaway kebab restaurant in Glasgow has had his conviction quashed on appeal by the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary. Faryad Darbazi was found guilty of digitally penetrating a woman contrary to Section 2 of the&

Legislation for a second independence referendum will be published in the coming weeks, the Scottish government has confirmed. The draft bill will detail the timetable for another vote on Scottish independence.

Douglas J. Cusine asks, among other things, why Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has said nothing about the malicious prosecution scandal? In his statement to Parliament about the prosecution of Whitehouse and Clark, the Lord Advocate made three observations. One was that there should be a judicial in

Sir William Macpherson of Cluny and Blairgowrie, judge and author of a damning report into the Metropolitan Police published in the wake of the Stephen Lawrence murder, has passed away at the age of 94. Chief of clan Macpherson for more than half a century, Sir William was a judge at the E

More than 500 court staff in England and Wales are to be balloted for industrial action from today over safety concerns arising from Covid. The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) is balloting members in HM Courts and Tribunals Service over management’s failure to act to address serious