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The right to work from home could be enshrined in law in Germany later this year, according to reports. Hubertus Heil, the federal minister for labour and social affairs, told Bild am Sonntag that he would bring forward legislation in autumn.

A couple of months ago, the biggest issues William Grant and Sons general counsel Greg Bargeton had to deal with were enforcing the company’s intellectual property rights and coming up with ways to prepare the business for whatever Brexit might throw at it. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit an

If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers.

Owners of realistic sex dolls have been reminded to dispose of their erstwhile companions properly following a series of mistaken reports of dead bodies. Police in Germany responded to a report of a dead body in a Bavarian village last weekend only to find a remarkably convincing sex doll, The Times

Judges have been urged to abandon the phrase "beyond all reasonable doubt" as it apparently confuses juries. In new guidance for the judiciary they have been advised to tell jurors they should be “satisfied so that they are sure” a defendant is guilty before convicting.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has provided an update on its work to restore Sheriff Court civil business. In a statement it said that "while a return to business as usual is not viable in the near future, we do believe that with the cooperation of the legal profession we

The Inner House of the Court of Session has allowed an appeal on how affordable housing units subject to ‘golden share’ provisions ought to be valued for council tax purposes. The Assessor for Lothian Valuation Joint Board appealed a decision of the Lothian Valuation Appea

New legislation to give greater protection for victims of hate crime has been introduced at Holyrood. The Hate Crime Bill seeks to modernise, consolidate and extend existing hate crime law. Alongside the legislation being introduced, a working group will take forward work on a standalone offence of

A former diplomat has been charged with contempt of court over his blogs on the trial of Alex Salmond. Proceedings have been brought against Craig Murray, former ambassador to Uzbekistan, who attended two days of the trial in the public gallery and blogged on the proceedings.

Leading players in Scotland’s property industry have joined forces to demand government action to protect jobs and ensure the nation’s housing market can recover strongly from the coronavirus crisis. Representing a cross-section of the industry supporting the buying and selling of proper

A bill to limit private sector rent rises and to increase the availability of information available to tenants has been lodged by Scottish Labour’s housing spokesperson Pauline McNeill MSP. The Fair Rents Bill, dubbed the Mary Barbour Bill after the legendary rent strike organiser, was written

Lady Hale's memoirs are to be published next year and will detail how “a little girl from a little school in a little village in North Yorkshire became the most senior judge in the United Kingdom”. The first female president of the Supreme Court, who retired earlier this year, has signed

DWF Group plc has announced that it has secured an in-principle agreement to increase its committed revolving credit facilities and a relaxation of certain covenants with its lenders. This agreement will result in a secondary RCF of £15 million, in addition to the group's existing RCF of &poun

Ailie McGowan discusses the need for a digitalised court system. The coronavirus pandemic and current enforcement of ‘lockdown’ measures in Scotland has sharply brought into focus the need for a fully functioning digitalised court system.

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Coronavirus pandemic is becoming a human rights crisis, UN warns | The Guardian