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The definition of what constitutes a defamatory statement has been set out in legislation for the first time under reforms passed by the Scottish Parliament. The Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Bill aims to simplify and modernise defamation law, while ensuring that a better balance i

Press freedom organisation Reporters without Borders (RSF) has filed a criminal complaint in Germany against Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and other Saudi officials, alleging crimes against humanity. The complaint details systematic persecution of journalists in Saudi Arabia, in pa

Allan McDougall Solicitors has appointed Alice Bowman as a solicitor in its employment law team in Edinburgh. Prior to joining Allan McDougall Solicitors, she trained and qualified at a firm specialising in employment law. She came to the legal industry late, having previously worked in the area of

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has warned of potential risks to the protection of people’s rights in Scotland as a result of the UK government’s latest review of the Human Rights Act. In evidence submitted to the review, the commission detailed its concern that changes being consid

One of the UK's largest holiday park operators has been widely condemned after blacklisting common Irish surnames as part of an unlawful discriminatory booking policy targeting Gypsies and Travellers. Pontins, owned by Britannia Jinky Jersey Limited, has now signed a legally binding agreement with t

DWF has advised the owners of leadership and talent consultancy Cirrus on its sale to Accenture, a global professional services company. Cirrus provides advice on leadership and digital learning to boost business performance. It has around 70 experts in the UK and in Australia.

Terra Firma Chambers is launching a spring webinars series with two events looking at the ways in which communities can now use the law to require the transfer of land and other property to them. There are an increasing number of community groups making applications under these provisions, which rai

The European Movement in Scotland, in association with Perth for Europe, is sponsoring a student essay competition to look at how society has benefited from the ECHR. The writer of the winning essay will receive a prize of £360 and the winning entry will be published in the Juridical Review.

Benjamin Bestgen considers the law around espionage in this week's jurisprudential primer. See last week's here. James Bond is a bad spy; a pathological character who’d probably score highly on most psychopathy tests: he is glib, manipulative, self-absorbed, lacking in empathy, unnecessarily v

A man who shares a surname with a derogatory term is suing a major academic institution over its definition. Italian man Francesco Terrone, 59, is seeking to have the prestigious Accademia della Crusca amend its definition of terrone.

A Pakistani citizen who challenged the decision to remove him from the UK on the grounds of his family life has had his petition for judicial review of the Upper Tribunal’s decision not to permit him to appeal the decision refused. Muhammad Javaid argued that the Upper Tribunal had failed

The key legal advice that underpinned the Scottish government’s defence of the judicial review taken by Alex Salmond will be released tomorrow. The decision by Deputy First Minister John Swinney has received the prior agreement of the law officers in line with paragraph 2.40 of the Scottish Mi

The Scottish Law Agents’ Society has secured wide-ranging political support for a proposed change in the law that would prevent the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) from approving its own budget. Andrew Stevenson, secretary of the society, said SLAS had received the support of

A parliamentary inquiry into the impact of Covid-19 on human rights has called on the Scottish government’s recovery plan to ensure that those people who have already experienced disproportionately negative effects as a result of the coronavirus crisis do not suffer further. The rights of wome

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh has suggested serious consideration be given to decriminalising drug use in order to resolve the "national emergency" of drug-related deaths in Scotland in a new report. In December 2020, the National Records of Scotland (NRS) reported that the number of