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If we truly want to reduce offending within our communities in Scotland then we must move beyond tokenistic, meaningless terms like being “hard” or “soft” on crime. We need to be cleverer, writes Iain Smith. ‘Smart Justice’ offers a chance to stand back from the c

Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People will deliver Glasgow Caledonian University's inaugural Law and The Common Good lecture. Bruce Adamson, who will be joined by two of his young advisers, will outline how the rights framework can effect change, at the online event on March 15.

Turkish human rights lawyer Eren Keskin has been sentenced to more than six years' imprisonment for terror offences. Ms Keskin, who co-chairs the Ankara-based NGO the Human Rights Association (İHD), was one of four defendants in a case concerning Özgür Gündem, a daily newspaper which

This week Benjamin Bestgen considers swearing, without which many of us would struggle to get through the day. See his last jurisprudential primer here. Unrelated to jurisprudential questions, a colleague recently mentioned the Jersey employment tribunal case of Wilkinson v Fairway Trust Limited [20

An eight-year-old border collie has joined the ranks of the canine elite after being left over €4 million in a will. Late bath tycoon Bill Dorris left $5 million from his estate – around €4.2 million or £3.6 million – to his beloved dog Lulu.

The Inner House of the Court of Session has refused a reclaiming motion challenging a decision to allow a petition for rectification of a Deed of Conditions relating to a parking garage in Edinburgh to proceed to a proof. Lothian Amusements Ltd, the 57th respondent to the petition raised b

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has denied claims it gave false assurances that a sheriff court was safe to attend last December following a Covid-19 outbreak. Seven members of staff at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court self-isolated before Christmas after testing positive for

Many will think of defamation as the primary recourse in battles between public figures and those who seek to comment on them but a recent High Court decision in England and Wales (Sussex v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2021] EWHC 273 (Ch)) shows that, under the right circumstances, protection of priva

A major court defeat for oil and gas giant Shell could herald the end of "a long chapter of impunity" for multinationals implicated in human rights abuses overseas, lawyers and campaigners have said. The UK Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Ogale and Bille communities in the Niger Delta can bri

BPP University Law School is to offer students what is believed to be the first class in making small talk, The Times reports. Georgie Nightingall, who is running the course in chitchat and networking, said that while small talk is often maligned, it is important for social advancement.

The founder of a theatre group which helps people battling addiction has won the 2021 Robert Burns Humanitarian Award. Mark Williamson won the award recently during a special online ceremony.

The recent Inner House opinion in Ogilvie Homes Limited v Scottish Ministers [2021] CSIH 8 highlights the role of the court in the interpretation of development plan policies. In accepting the arguments presented by Terra Firma's Douglas Armstrong QC, the court concluded that the Scottish minis

The appointment of three senators on the same day next week will be a judicial first. Craig Sandison QC, Shona Haldane QC and Martin Richardson QC will take their oaths of office in the First Division Courtroom, Court 1, next Monday.

Bereaved families dealing with banks to settle the finances of loved ones have suffered "unacceptable mistakes" during probate, according to research carried out in England and Wales by consumer body Which?. Customers have reported banks losing death certificates or failing to close the account of s

A criminal case concerning the alleged theft of slippers worth around €20 has been concluded after eight years and around €3,000 in costs. The long-running case in Palermo, the capital of the Italian region of Sicily, has been held up as an example of trivial cases clogging up the island's