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John Campbell QC has been announced as the new chairman of The Ross Development Trust, the charity working in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver The Quaich Project in West Princes Street Gardens. Mr Campbell, a trustee of the charity for two years, takes on the role as chair f

Jurors and others should continue to attend Scottish courts as usual during the Coronavirus outbreak if they are not displaying symptoms, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has said. Anyone who has received medical advice to self-isolate should not attend court or any SCTS buildings, a

Caroline Gillespie looks at proposals to change the laws of surrogacy. “The current law is out of date, unclear and not fit for purpose”. This was one of the conclusions reached last year in a joint consultation document by the Law Commission of England & Wales and the Scottish Law C

A member of the Faculty of Advocates marked International Women’s Day by launching a campaign seeking justice for thousands of people in Scotland who were convicted of witchcraft and executed. Claire Mitchell QC wants a legal pardon for those who fell victim of the Witchcraft Act 1563 and

The woman who was told "over and over" not to go to the bar, yet who ultimately became Scotland's first female judge, has spoken about her path to the bench. In the latest episode of the University of Glasgow Law Podcast, Lady Cosgrove speaks to senior lecturer Maria Fletcher.

An event for lawyers, legal academics and equality bodies looking at challenges and ways to improve diversity in the legal profession will be held in Glasgow this month. The Scottish Discrimination Law Association (SDLA), Scottish Ethnic Minority Lawyers Association (SEMLA) and MacRoberts LLP are jo

Scotland’s legal tech sector is set to benefit from support from the Information Commissioner Office (ICO) in developing innovative solutions to ensure GDPR compliance which can be used across a range of different sectors and businesses. The Law Society of Scotland has signed a memorandum of u

Macdonald Henderson has advised Inspire Scotland on the acquisition of Gladstone Childcare. Inspire Scotland is a provider of residential care and Gladstone Childcare provides services to children across Scotland.

A statue of the late Russian socialist leader Vladimir Lenin will be erected in a western Germany city for the first time after a court ruling. The statue, made in the Soviet Union in the 1930s and bought at an auction, will be installed in front of the Gelsenkirchen headquarters of the Marxist-Leni

A gay paedophile couple serving life sentences after being found guilty of murder have failed in a legal challenge against a decision by prison authorities to ban them from telephoning each other. Partners Charles O’Neill and William Lauchlan claimed they should be treated as “near relat

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned traders that if they exploit the coronavirus outbreak to take advantage of consumers they will face enforcement action and that, if necessary, it will ask the UK government to introduce price controls. The CMA will consider any evidence that com

The UK government has been asked to clarify who will be responsible for implementing checks on trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain after the Scottish government ruled out checks at Scottish ports. Northern Ireland's Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots told MLAs earlier this week that Scott

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has appointed Burges Salmon to its legal services panel to provide advice and advocacy services on corporate and operational matters. SEPA is Scotland's principal environmental regulator and flood risk management, forecasting and warning authority. I

Dubai's 70-year-old billionaire ruler kidnapped two of his daughters and left the youngest of his six wives fearing for her life after he discovered her affair with a bodyguard, a judge has found. Sir Andrew McFarlane said that, on the civil standard, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum's actions

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has thanked Colin McConnell for his work as chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) following his decision to retire later this year. Mr McConnell has led the SPS since May 2012, following a career in prisons in Scotland, England and Wales and Northern Ire