News

A judge has ruled that a staggering €340,000 debt built up in three games of rock-paper-scissors is invalid. The debt had been recognised in a notarised contract and had led loser Edmund Mark Hooper to register a mortgage on his home.

The High Court of England and Wales has allowed an appeal by the Home Secretary against judicial review proceedings challenging the lawfulness of provisions under the Immigration Act 2014 preventing landlords in the private sector from letting to irregular immigrants. The application was first broug

Scotland’s £18 billion housing market will experience two bouncebacks when the country emerges from lockdown, Scottish Building Society chief executive Paul Denton has forecast. Mr Denton said the sector has been hit by government stay-at-home measures for agents, surveyors and pros

Conor McGregor has failed in a legal battle against a clothing company whose sportswear bears the same name. The 31-year-old MMA fighter applied to register his name as a trademark in order to sell clothing in Europe.

Five thousand people who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl have registered for a class action lawsuit that claims the resort and Tyrol region put private gain before public health, The Irish Times reports.

A series of free online seminars on EU citizens’ rights are being organised by the Citizens' Rights Project, which works with EU citizens across Scotland. The webinars will focus mainly on the ‘Settled Status’ scheme under which EU citizens currently in the UK can get a permanent r

Remote courts technology is not ready for criminal trials with juries, the head of the Criminal Bar Association in England and Wales has said. After observing a mock remote jury trial, Caroline Goodwin QC concluded that "the technology is not there to deliver a safe and fair trial", The Times report

Iain Young comments on the importance for companies of reviewing their articles of association at this time. The social distancing restrictions imposed by the UK government has meant that all businesses have moved to remote working arrangements where it is possible for them to do so. The effect of t

On Tuesday Lord Leggatt was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice in a small, modified ceremony held in the court's library. He recited the judicial oath in the presence of UKSC President, Lord Reed. The other justices watched remotely.

The Scottish Young Lawyers' Association (SYLA) is launching a podcast series that promises to deliver interesting conversations on a variety of topics during the lockdown.

The US state of Missouri has launched an "impossible" bid to sue the Chinese government for coronavirus. Eric Schmitt, the Attorney General of Missouri, has said the "Show-Me" state, as it is known, will hold China to account for "the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on

The joint administrators of the department store Debenhams have been held by the High Court of England and Wales to have adopted the employment contracts of personnel who had been furloughed due to the company’s participation in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS). The administrators so

The first virtual hearing in Scotland held as a result of the coronavirus emergency took place yesterday. The Inner House appeal, Stuart Campbell v Kezia Dugdale, was heard before the Lord President, Lord Carloway, sitting with Lord Menzies and Lord Brodie. The other participants were the clerk of c

Social distancing regulations introduced to slow the spread of coronavirus have been confirmed and extended to protect workers. Temporary regulations restricting public gatherings and non-essential business activity have been in force since 26 March.

A number of short-term prisoners nearing the end of their time in custody are to be released early, under measures designed to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Regulations will be laid before Parliament so that release can start from 30 April. The scheme will be limited to those sentenced to 18