News

A rugby-loving Fife lawyer has tackled a sports charity’s toughest challenge, enabling more teenagers to gain from the game.

An attempt by prosecutors in Hong Kong to charge people for rioting or illegal assembly, even if they are not physically present, has been thrown out by the region's highest court, The Times reports. The Court of Final Appeal ruled that people who are not actually at rallies cannot be prosecuted as

An Italian court has recommended that a bear who mauled a man be released back into the wild. The brown bear, known as M57, attacked off-duty policeman Diego Balasso near Andalo in the province of Trento. He was saved, however, after passers-by scared the animal off.

The Scottish Football Association has lost an appeal against the grant of an interdict preventing them from appointing an arbitral tribunal in a dispute between Rangers FC and the Scottish Professional Football League. Park’s of Hamilton (Holdings) Ltd, a sponsor of Rangers since 2015, raised

The Lord Advocate has said she would support non-jury trials in rape cases because they would help clear the criminal backlog. Dorothy Bain QC told MSPs on Holyrood's Criminal Justice Committee that "radical" action needed to be taken and lent her support to Lady Dorrian's review that suggested a pi

Lord Hope of Craighead has recalled how, when sitting in a murder case, he realised police had arrested the wrong individual, "who was then accused and convicted". The crossbench peer was speaking in the Lords in support of amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which contains

A complaint of discrimination by Health Secretary Humza Yousaf against a Dundee nursery has been upheld by a regulator. Mr Yousaf complained that Little Scholars Day Nursery in Broughty Ferry had discriminated against his daughter.

A Catholic Brother from a religious order has been jailed for the historical sexual abuse of children over two decades. Michael Murphy, who was also known as Brother Benedict or Brother Ben, carried out the assaults against 19 boys between 1961 and 1981 at residential schools in Stirlingshire and Ea

Emma Barclay has been promoted to partner within the corporate team at BTO Solicitors LLP. Ms Barclay, who joined BTO as a trainee solicitor in 2012, has focused on corporate law throughout her career. A valued team member, she has progressed through the ranks in less than a decade and will play a k

The Lord Advocate has told MSPs she will take another look at any proposals for drug consumption rooms based on evidence. Addressing Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee, Dorothy Bain QC said “the question of what is in the public interest” could be re-examined in relation to the

A Romanian politician given a suspended sentence for abuse of authority who challenged the judgment on the basis two of the judges had not signed it and had retired before its reasoning was finalised has failed in his Article 6 appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. In its decision in the cas

Dispute resolution and mediation business, Squaring Circles, is celebrating its first two years in business by launching an online mediation service for disputes under £50,000. By utilising technology, Squaring Circles has streamlined its processes to make mediation for lower value claims more

A 32-year old Aberdeenshire man who kept a dog for fighting has been given a community payback order requiring him to be under supervision for 12 months and to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work. He was also banned from keeping dogs for 10 years. Liam Taylor was sentenced at Banff Sheriff Court toda

New rules on fireworks will be in place this year as revellers prepare to mark bonfire night. It is intended the tighter rules will limit the disruption caused to pets and members of the community who are frightened around this time of year, as well as improving safety.

Wild hamsters who terrorise the dead have won a stay of execution from sympathetic judges. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that wild hamster burrows in one of the Vienna's oldest cemeteries cannot be destroyed, even if they are empty.