News

Divorces have risen sharply in Saudi Arabia during the coronavirus pandemic, apparently driven by women discovering that their husbands are secret polygamists. A record 7,482 divorces were carried out in February, a 30 per cent year-on-year increase, with local lawyers crediting restrictions on move

A man who was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment for sexually assaulting a woman has had his appeal against conviction refused by the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary. Gavin Macdonald argued that the trial sheriff’s use of the word “victim” to describe the

The attorney general for England and Wales has been accused of undermining the "impartiality of her role and the rule of law" for defending Dominic Cummings on Twitter after it was revealed he had apparently breached the lockdown rules. Mr Cummings has said he acted reasonably – and legal

Vice-Dean of Faculty, Roddy Dunlop QC has joined 4 Pump Court chambers in London as he expands his practice to include England. Mr Dunlop, of Axiom Advocates in Scotland, is the only Scottish silk ranked in eight practice areas by Chambers UK, and is ranked as the star individual for commercial

Another appeal against the conviction of the late Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi for carrying out the Lockerbie bombing has been lodged at the High Court of Justiciary. Mr Megrahi was convicted on 31 January 2001 for the murders of the 243 passengers and the 16 crew on board Pan Am Flight 103 from L

There has been a drop in crimes recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, according to Scotland's chief statistician. In figures released today that analyse the impact of the coronavirus lockdown, a 13 per cent drop in domestic abuse crimes was reported as compared with April

A High Court judge has been censured by the Supreme Court for directing a "barrage of hostility" towards a claimant in "immoderate, ill-tempered and at times offensive language". The libel case of Serafin v Malkiewicz and others was sent for retrial after five justices ruled that Mr Justice Jay had

In Gladman Developments Limited v The Scottish Ministers [2002] CSIH 28, the Inner House of the Court of Session has given clear guidance on the application of the 'titled balance', which will be of considerable interest to all planning practitioners, and its influence will extend well beyond t

The Scotsman today notes that the tram inquiry has taken longer than it took the build the line itself. Retired judge Lord Hardie was appointed six years ago to investigate why the project went over budget and took so long to complete.

A bill to control rent levels has been introduced at Holyrood. The Fair Rents (Scotland) Bill adds to the law on private rented housing in the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 and aims to improve the way rents are set in private rented housing as a means of reducing poverty and suppor

Glasgow City Heritage Trust has awarded a building repair grant of £57,344 for conservation repairs to the category A-listed Royal Faculty of Procurators building.

A man has been arrested after throwing a pickle at a construction worker from a moving car. The incident took place on the border of the US states of Vermont and Massachusetts on Monday evening, the Boston Herald reports.

A man who lives near a waste water treatment plant in the Highlands has failed to obtain declarator of continuing nuisance in respect of noxious fumes that were present in his garden. William MacBean, a resident of Boat of Garten, originally raised the action against Scottish Water in 2017

A QC has suggested a roving High Court would be a solution to dealing with the backlog of criminal cases. Appearing before Holyrood's Justice Committee, Ronnie Rennuci QC, president of the Scottish Criminal Bar Association, said a solution to the stalemate would be “putting the High Court back

The Law Society of Scotland has today launched a three-year action plan that aims to tackle stigma around mental health in the legal sector. The new action plan follows a survey of Scotland’s legal profession on their views of mental health in the workplace in 2019 and accompanies the survey&r