News

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has dismissed the so-called "gay cake" case brought by Gareth Lee, a UK national, represented by Ciaran Moynagh of Phoenix Law, against the United Kingdom government. The ECtHR found that Mr Lee had relied on national legislation to advance his discriminati

Benjamin Bestgen takes a philosophical look at corruption. In November 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson felt the need to tell the world’s media at the COP26 conference that the UK was not remotely a corrupt country. The PM took this step as both he personally and his Tory party are, not for

Forbes Leslie has stepped down as senior partner of Dallas McMillan after 20 years in the position, with head of litigation Gordon Bell taking his place. David McElroy meanwhile became the firm’s managing partner. His role will focus on the firm’s business development and strategic plann

Three Aberdeenshire men have been sentenced after admitting using dogs to hunt wild hares. Peter Anderson, Philip Starr and Phillip Wilson, all from Macduff, had previously pled guilty to wildlife offences at Forfar Sheriff Court.

Scottish ministers have appointed 15 part-time sheriffs and 17 part-time summary sheriffs. The new part-time sheriffs are: Robert Carr, Duncan Hamilton QC, Kirsty Hood QC, Krista Johnston, Gareth Jones, Neil Kinnear, Mark Lindsay QC, Scott Manson, Christian Marney, Robert More, James Mulgrew, Iain N

A Scottish employment tribunal has ordered Rape Crisis Scotland to pay a former employee over £50,000 in compensation after it found she had been unfairly dismissed from her role in the charity. It also expressed concern at the extensive role played by chief executive Sandy Brindley throughout

India's tax authority has seized £26 million in banknotes, 23 kilograms of gold and 250 kilograms of silver from the country's biggest-ever tax evader. Businessman Piyush Jain was arrested after officials raided his home, described by local media as a "warehouse of money" with cash "spilling o

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is seeking feedback on the draft journalism code of practice about processing personal data for the purposes of journalism.  This is a statutory code under section 124 of the Data Protection Act 2018. The consultation will close on Monday 10 January 2

The so-called "gay cake" case could return to the domestic courts following a "disappointing" ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), lawyers have said. The ECtHR ruled that the case brought by Gareth Lee against the United Kingdom was inadmissible because Mr Lee did not explicitly r

Iain Drummond considers a recent case that provides lessons for the construction sector concerning the enforcement of adjudicators’ decisions by companies in liquidation. The recent case of John Doyle Construction (JDC) v Erith Contractors Limited provides two lessons for the construction sect

This month may prove to be the “most challenging time of the pandemic”, according to the head of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. Eric McQueen has warned that the increasing level of positive Covid cases and need to self-isolate are likely to cause further case delays and that

The Scottish government’s Consultation on Regulation of the Legal Profession closed on Christmas Eve. The Scottish Law Agents’ Society’s response, authored by its council member Ken Swinton, notes the importance of proper regulation of will writing and confirmation work – two

John Edwards has taken up the role of UK information commissioner. Mr Edwards, who joins on a five-year term, spent the past eight years as New Zealand privacy commissioner and before that worked as a barrister.

Anti-racism campaigners have celebrated a jury's decision to find protestors who toppled a statue of a slave trader in Bristol not guilty of criminal damage. Jake Skuse 33, Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, and Sage Willoughby, 22, admitted participating in toppling the statue and throwing it in

New Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) board members Richard McMeeken, John Stevenson and Jean Grier have taken up office. Their appointments are for five years. They replace Kay Springham, Denise Loney, Sara Hesp and Sarah McLuckie who have reached the end of their terms with the SLCC.