News

A sheriff may rely on facts established at a hearing on a ground of referral before a Children’s Hearing when considering an application for a permanence order, appeal judges have ruled. The Inner House of the Court of Session refused a legal challenge by the mother of a child who wa

An emergency legal bid to stop Prime Minister Boris Johnson from suspending Parliament has begun at the Court of Session. Seventy-five parliamentarians are supporting the action which seeks an interim interdict to prevent the suspension of Parliament pending a full hearing, to begin on 6 September.

Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, will hear victims' rights campaigner Raymond McCord's legal challenge to the prorogation of Parliament tomorrow at the High Court in Belfast. Mr McCord launched the challenge two weeks ago in a bid to prevent the Prime Minister from

Eight new sheriffs have been appointed to serve the sheriffdoms of Glasgow & Strathkelvin, Grampian, Highland and Islands, North Strathclyde, South Strathclyde, Dumfries & Galloway and Tayside, Central & Fife. Her Majesty The Queen has appointed Paul Reid, Tony Kelly, Sara Matheson, Jose

Figures released by HMRC last week revealed a reduction in the number of property transactions in the UK this summer amidst uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

BTO has announced the appointment of senior associate Morven Douglas and solicitor Brittany Thomas to its family law team. Ms Douglas, an accredited specialist in family law and a trained collaborative lawyer, has practised exclusively in the field of family law for 16 years.

A group of MPs has called for new legislation to stop banks abandoning Scottish towns. A report published by the UK Parliament's Scottish Affairs Committee calls on the UK government to obtain a commitment from banks that they will not close "the last branch in town".

A consultation has been launched on modernising the law around judicial factors to bring clarity, accessibility and efficiency to an important but outmoded area of the law. A judicial factor is a person appointed by the court to hold, manage, administer and protect property in circumstances where it

The Scottish Legal Action Group (SCOLAG) sets out its views here on the Whole Life Custody (Scotland) Bill, proposed by Liam Kerr MSP. We have considered the terms of the consultation document and have followed closely the parliamentary and public debate on the bill.

Charles Livingstone and Douglas Waddell look at the recent phenomenon of crowdfunding litigation. Litigation can be expensive, time-consuming and open-ended. As anyone who has ever pursued or defended a court action knows, it’s impossible to guarantee how long the process will take or how much

A profoundly deaf man has served as a juror in England and Wales in what is believed to be a legal first. Matthew Johnston, 54, served on three trials at Blackfriars Crown Court over a two-week period, The Guardian reports.

A judge has questioned why the courts require facts to be "squeezed into a Moorov straitjacket" instead of recognising a more general principle admitting similar fact evidence where relevance is established. Lord Glennie made the obiter comments in a judgment allowing the appeal against conviction o

A motion has been submitted asking the Court of Session to suspend Prime Minister Boris Johnson's request that Parliament be suspended. The legal action is being taken by a cross-party group of more than 70 MPs and peers, with the support of the Good Law Project.

Scotland is considering the creation of a dedicated sexual offences court, a judge has said. Lord Matthews said in a speech at the Third International Advocacy Conference in Nottingham that a judge-led sexual offences review group is considering the measure.

Harper Macleod has announced record results this year, with a 9.5 per cent rise in turnover to £29 million and an eight per cent rise in profits to £11m. The figures for the financial year 2018/19, which represent eight consecutive years of profit growth, come as the firm prepares to com