News

A new student clinic at Edinburgh Law School will be the first of its kind in Scotland and only the second in the UK when it opens its doors next month. The Scottish Tax Clinic, run by the university in conjunction with charity partner TaxAid, represents a significant expansion of pro bono tax servi

Limited places are available at CLT Scotland’s Commercial Property Conference, sponsored by First Scottish, taking place online on Tuesday 28 September. Chaired by Harper MacLeod’s David Steel, the conference will consider the latest lease, access, environmental, compulsory purchase and

A judge who was caught playing cards during a remote court hearing in a case worth nearly €100 million has apologised. Madam Justice Jolaine Antonio, a judge of the Alberta Court of Appeal in Canada, admitted in a letter that there was "no excuse for causing litigants and their counsel to feel

The UK Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by a travel agent against a decision that it could not set aside a contractual agreement with an airline with a monopoly on flights between the UK and Pakistan for reasons of lawful act economic duress. Times Travel UK had originally brought a claim again

Plans to exclude juries from rape trials have been rubbished by the Faculty of Advocates. In a submission to Holyrood's Criminal Justice Committee, the Faculty states that many within the legal profession had been accused of being conspiracy theorists when they suggested last year that there was "a

More than 4,650 sheriff summary cases were concluded last month, almost reaching pre-Covid levels. The latest figures from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) also show that during August:

The Faculty of Advocates has expressed worry that the establishment of specialist courts for sexual cases would downgrade such offences as they would no longer be prosecuted within the High Court. The proposed specialist courts would have inferior sentencing powers and would be more like a "speciali

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has demanded the Scottish government respond to research stating that no recommendations to improve practice are made in nine out of 10 fatal accident inquiries into deaths in prison. Sheriffs made no recommendations for improvement in

A new sentencing guideline developed by the Scottish Sentencing Council comes into force in Scotland today. The sentencing process guideline sets out eight steps which courts should follow in order to reach a sentencing decision.

Terra Firma Chambers’ Scott Blair will chair CLT’s Licensing Conference on Thursday 7th October 2021. The virtual event, part of CLT’s Scots Law Autumn Series, will consider the numerous challenges faced by the licensing industry over the past 18 months. The conference will not onl

A company has been fined £20,000 after a mechanical engineer got his finger trapped in a printing machine. The 57-year-old man had been carrying out maintenance on a printing machine at United Closures and Plastics Limited, now known as Guala Closures UCP Limited, in Bridge of Allan on 14 Octo

Ashurst has announced the firm's new Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging (IDB) targets to be achieved by 2026 and launched its IDB action plan. The new targets, set by the board in consultation with the executive team and the Committed to Change Advisory Group, comprise:

The impact of Covid and Brexit, new legislation and reform are all key themes which will be considered at CLT Scotland’s Family Conference taking place online on Monday 4 October. Chaired by MacRoberts’ Marika Franceschi, the conference will consider the impact of the pandemic on court p

Michael Jackson memorabilia seized from the vice president of Equatorial Guinea will be used to help pay for Covid-19 vaccines for the country, US authorities have said. Obiang Mangue was required to sell the memorabilia, as well as a $30 million California mansion and a Ferrari, as part of a 2014 s

The Court of Appeal of England and Wales has set aside a decision of the High Court of Justice (Queen’s Bench Division) advising that children aged under 16 should not be prescribed puberty-blocking drugs as part of treatment for gender dysphoria without sanction from the court. The Tavistock