News

Slovenia has become the thirteenth country in Europe to pass legislation defining rape as sex without consent. The new amendment to the Slovenian criminal code, debated for nearly three years, removes the requirement for evidence of use of force or the threat of use of force and violence to classify

Lady Hale has advocated the use of caravan courts to restore local justice and spare participants long journeys. The former Supreme Court justice suggested mobile courts could compensate for the hundreds of court buildings closed by the UK government.

A law firm is to become the first to offer paid leave to staff who have been affected by the loss of a pregnancy. Kingsley Napley employees will be allowed 10 days' paid leave in the event of miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth or neonatal loss.

Over 600 people will receive damages from South Yorkshire Police and West Midlands Police as part of a settlement over the cover-up following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 football fans were unlawfully killed. The settlement, bringing to a close large-scale group litigation which began

Divorce lawyers have reported a sharp fall in inquiries mentioning adultery during the Covid-19 pandemic, alongside a sharp rise in inquiries mentioning "bad behaviour". London firm Vardags said inquiries mentioning adultery declined by 63 per cent during England's latest lockdown, but those citing

A judge has blasted the last two Star Wars films as "mediocre and schlocky" in an otherwise dry judgment on the labelling of cooking oil. Judge Kenneth K. Lee, sitting in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, summed up the case as "How to Lose a Class Action Settlement in 10 Ways".

An Italian man whose deceased mother was domiciled in Scotland has successfully petitioned the Court of Session for the removal of his brother as an executor of her estate after he began living in her property without consent. The deceased, Ann Sherrede Ciarrocca, had lived in Edinburgh si

The Scottish government’s £1 million fund to support legal aid traineeships in Scotland has opened to applicants. The government fund will provide support for up to 40 new legal aid trainees, paying for 50 per cent of their salaries. In addition, trainees’ regulatory costs, nationa

Supermarkets in the UK have suffered another blow in the battle for equal pay after the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled employees working in stores can compare their roles to colleagues working in distribution centres for the purpose of equal pay. Before the UK left the EU, the C

When Sally-Anne Anderson made a comeback at Aberdein Considine in 2016 it was to take up partnership after three years as an associate at Harper Macleod. Having worked at the Aberdeen-headquartered business earlier in her career, the employment specialist decided to return as the time felt right to

A move by the Home Office to house asylum seekers in a "squalid" military barracks in Folkstone was flawed and unlawful, the English High Court has found. The claim was brought by six asylum seekers who were accommodated in Napier Barracks between September 2020 and February 2021. All of t

The nature and scale of hate crime in Scotland are not fully understood by Police Scotland, according to a watchdog's report. The HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) Thematic Inspection of Hate Crime report found that a lack of training, limitations of IT systems and problems wi

Aberdeen firm James & George Collie LLP (incorporating Kinnear & Falconer, Stonehaven) has announced the promotion of Steven Allan to partner. Mr Allan joined the firm in February 2017 having previously worked at a number of other established local firms and has significant experience in a w

Cati Johnstone is joining MacFarlane Young in Paisley. Ms Johnstone will join from McVey & Murricane where she began work as a member of the support staff before becoming a pre-trainee while studying for the LLB at the University of Aberdeen.

Justice of the peace courts across Scotland will reopen for hearings on Monday. The plan to restart JP court criminal business was announced following the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service’s review of operating arrangements in courts after the Scottish government announcement of the easing