News

Last month saw the completion of 442 sheriff solemn cases, a figure that is 103 per cent of the average pre-Covid level. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has published today the ninth monthly workbook to show the throughput of criminal cases in our courts.

The Lord Chief Justice has suggested making juries smaller to deal with the mounting backlog of criminal cases. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Lord Burnett of Maldon said “an opportunity was missed to introduce a temporary reduction in jury size” at the onset of the pandemic last year.

A man has been arrested in connection with the theft of 21 tonnes of pistachios valued at more than $100,000. California man Alberto Montemayor, 34, of Montemayor Trucking, was arrested after an audit of Touchstone Pistachio Company found that 42,000 pounds of the seeds were missing.

A woman whose doctor negligently led her to believe she was not a carrier of a hereditary disease has had her appeal against a decision that the doctor was not liable for all the costs associated with raising her child refused by the Supreme Court. The appellant, Ms Meadows, gave birth to a chi

The Supreme Court has found that an accounting firm that incorrectly advised a building society that it could use a method of accounting known as “hedge accounting” to handle volatility in certain payments had negligently cost the society £32 million for the cost of ditching the co

It has been suggested that the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain QC, should recuse herself from any investigation into the malicious prosecution of Rangers FC's administrators due to her involvement in the saga. Ms Bain had claimed that prosecutors involved in the malicious prosecutions did not understand

A six-month extension of emergency measures granted under the Scottish Coronavirus Acts will be debated in the Scottish Parliament next week. The Coronavirus (Extension and Expiry) (Scotland) Bill will be scrutinised and debated by MSPs over three days from 22 June.

Shepherd and Wedderburn has appointed Euan Murray as a partner in its construction and infrastructure team. He brings to the firm and its clients 16 years’ experience advising on the procurement, construction and operation of energy and infrastructure projects across the UK. Mr Murray, who was

A bill to legalise assisted dying is being lodged at Holyrood today. The proposals by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur would introduce the right to an assisted death for terminally ill, mentally competent adults.

A consultation on new legislation on the sale and use of fireworks and tackling the misuse of pyrotechnics has been published. The proposed Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Bill follows the report of an independent Fireworks Review Group which recommended tightening legislation to reduce the harm firework

Police Scotland has launched a new team in the north east to help tackle cyber-enabled crimes. Based in Aberdeen, the 'cyber-enabled crime team' will work alongside national units within Police Scotland to help develop specialist knowledge locally, enhance investigations and develop preventative str

What is the CMA doing about 'greenwashing'? Scott Rodger explains all. The ethical consumer market in the UK has increased four-fold since 1999 and is now conservatively estimated at over £40 billion per annum. Consumers are actively changing their behaviours in favour of more sustainable

Jacqueline Fordyce has been appointed as a member of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.  Her appointment was announced earlier this week by Justice Secretary Keith Brown. The role of the SCCRC, established in 1999, is to consider alleged miscarriages of justice.

Around 1,600 suspects have been held on remand for over a year awaiting delayed Crown Court trials in England and Wales amid an enormous backlog which a £40 million cash injection has failed to resolve, according to reports. There are 40,000 cases waiting to be heard in the Crown Court –

The Scottish Law Librarians' Group, in association with the Advocates Library, will host an online event entitled House of Commons Library and Briefing Paper Research next month.  The SLLG committee and Advocates Library hope the event will be of great interest to law librarians, legal professi