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Patrick Penninckx, head of the information society department at the Council of Europe conducted a webinar entitled Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights this week. It was organised by the European Law Students Association (ELSA) as part of a series of webinars on law and technology. The spe

The third episode of the Scottish Young Lawyers’ Association (SYLA) podcast is now available. Episode three of Conversations with SYLA sees SYLA president Ayla Iridag speak to barrister Michael Polak of Church Court Chambers about his journey to law, world-famous cases and his compan

Two machete-wielding men who were hired to fulfil a bizarre sex fantasy broke into the wrong man's house after an unfortunate mix-up. The men were hired online by Australian man Kevin Costello to break into his home, tie him up in his underwear and touch him with a broom.

A blogger who sued the former leader of the Scottish Labour Party for defamation for calling him “homophobic” in response to a tweet he had made about a Scottish Conservative Party MSP has had his appeal refused. Stuart Campbell, who has run the Wings Over Scotland blog since 2011, chall

  Raeburn Christie Clark & Wallace (RCCW) has announced the promotion of Amy Watson to partner, and Ruth Lussier to associate.

Legislation to ensure that the rights of children are at the heart of any family law case, and that their views are heard, has passed its first hurdle at Holyrood. Measures in the Children (Scotland) Bill include regulation of child contact centres to ensure every one is a safe place for c

A group of MPs has called on the UK government to establish an expert committee detailing legal guidance on fairly dealing with legal claims arising out of the pandemic. Led by Dr Philippa Whitford MP, the SNP's health spokesperson, the group is working with medical defence organisation MDDUS.

Philip Yelland, executive director of regulation at the Law Society of Scotland, has retired after 30 years at the professional body for Scottish solicitors. In the past three decades, he has seen major changes within the organisation and significant regulatory reform, including two new Scottish par

Carole Ewart comments on the much-derided move by the Scottish government to extend FOI response times in the midst of the pandemic – a move that has since been reversed. On April 1, politicians voted to change freedom of information (FOI) law in Scotland. Thankfully, seven weeks later, a unit

From 8 June 2020, anyone entering the UK (whether as a resident or a visitor) will have to self-isolate for 14 days under new government rules. Elaine McIlroy details the latest rules and how they affect employers. Please note that the rules are reviewed every three weeks. Requirement to provid

An attempt to trademark the name of a malt made in tribute to Portree has failed. Diageo, which owns Talisker, had successfully applied to register "Port Ruighe" but the body representing port winemakers in Portugal objected to the name, Gaelic for Portree, because "Port" and "Porto" enjoy protectio

The Scottish arm of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 has issued an eight-point checklist to help owner/managers across the region deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their businesses. The organisation’s members, who include insolvency practitioners, lawyers, and

Many will have despaired at the poor questioning of ministers by ill-focused journalists. Andrew Crosbie, a devil, has provided a blog on how journalists should cross-examine politicians and hold them to account. He writes: "In the dystopian hellscape that is 2020, we have all become accustomed to f

A six-year-long court battle over the sound of cowbells on a small dairy farm in rural Bavaria has finally come to an end. Legal proceedings were brought against the farm near Munich by a couple who moved in next door in 2011 and said the cowbells were too loud and disrupted their sleep.

A man convicted of raping his partner, with whom he allegedly began a sexual relationship with while she was underage, has had his appeal against conviction and sentence refused. The appellant, RKS, argued that the trial judge had erred in directing the jury regarding whether they could take in