News

Eamon Keane responds to Alistair Bonnington on the Scottish Parliament's Salmond inquiry. I wish to comment upon one matter, related to evidence and procedure, raised in Alistair Bonnington’s opinion piece, in which he is, in my opinion, wholly incorrect. Namely, his assertions about the inte

Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA trade union, which represents Scottish government civil servants and prosecutors, responds to Alistair Bonnington on the Salmond inquiry. Many of you will have views on the evidence and issues that have been dealt with by the Committee on the Scottish Govern

Juries should be cut from 12 members to seven in order to clear the Covid-19 backlog of criminal cases in England and Wales, Labour has said. The call follows a joint report from the police, prosecutors, prisons and probation inspectorates, which said the "unprecedented and very serious" backlog in

Benjamin Bestgen examines the impact of "respectability" in criminal trials. See last week's jurisprudential primer here. Tropes like the “Gentleman Thief” pick up on the allure of the white-collar criminal: a person who appears respectable, educated, even charming. A worldly, cleve

Facial recognition technology amplifies racist policing and threatens the right to protest, campaigners have warned as they launch a global campaign against its use. The new Ban the Scan campaign, launched by Amnesty International, will begin in New York City before expanding to focus on the use of

Rape victims from an ethnic minority background are significantly less likely to see their case lead to prosecutions or convictions, according to a new research paper. In a newly-published report, psychologists at Middlesex University call on the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to improve its guidan

Pet owners are being asked to register their dog's unique "noseprint" with city authorities in a pilot aimed at reducing pet insurance fraud. The initiative in Hangzhou, in eastern China, requires pet owners to use an app to upload a picture of their dog's nose in exchange for a digital ID card.

A man serving a life sentence for murder after striking a man with a machete outside a Glasgow pub has had his appeal against conviction refused. David Callaghan appealed on the ground that the trial judge did not direct the jury that the confession of his co-accused to his participation on the atta

Edinburgh property lawyer Andrew Diamond has been appointed as the new chairman of ESPC. Mr Diamond, a partner and head of residential property at Lindsays, has worked in the residential property sector for nearly three decades and has been a non-executive director of ESPC for more than five years.

Equality legislation and policymaking should be fully devolved to the Scottish Parliament to help create a gender-equal Scotland, Scottish government advisers have said. The third report from the First Minister's National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG) argues the need for devolution thr

The University of Stirling has announced a new strategic partnership with global law firm Ashurst. The partnership with the University’s Law School will focus on developing the next generation of "NewLaw professionals", by bringing the evolution of the legal sector and the associated new caree

Clyde & Co hosted over 300 clients and staff at its first-ever virtual Burns Night celebrations, replacing its traditional London event. Vikki Melville, managing partner in Scotland, delivered the Address to the Haggis, while consultant Gordon Keyden delivered the Immortal Memory toast and David

HMRC will not penalise Self Assessment customers for filing late online tax returns as long as they file by 28 February 2021. Taxpayers are still obliged to pay their bill by 31 January and more than 8.9 million customers have already filed their tax return. Interest will be charged from 1 February

Magistrates will be allowed to work until they are 75 under new UK government plans. The mandatory retirement age for magistrates will be increased from 70 to 75 out of fears that a large number of retirements will compound the problems created by Covid-19 backlogs in the magistrates' courts, The Te

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani is facing a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit from a company he allegedly accused of playing a role in rigging the US presidential election against Donald Trump. Dominion Voting Systems, which supplies voting machines and software for dozens of US states and municipalities,