News

A mother-of-five who failed to participate in legal proceedings in which her local authority applied to adopt her youngest child has had an appeal against a sheriff’s decision to grant the council’s petitioner dismissed. The Sheriff Appeal Court ruled that the sheriff had suffi

Lesley Gordon reviews the application of Scotland's cohabitation legislation in recent case law.  The number of cohabiting families in the UK has almost doubled in the last 20 years and, in 2006, Scotland led the way by introducing legal protection for cohabitants from unfair situations arising

The use and regulation of fireworks is the focus of a public consultation which aims to ensure everyone can enjoy displays safely. Community safety minister Ash Denham launched the consultation, which asks for views on issues such as whether the sale of fireworks to the public should be banned, and

Police officer numbers have seen a small increase in the last quarter but have decreased over the past year. The key findings of the statistics, published today by Scotland’s chief statistician, are:

A cremation service for the late David Sellar, former Lord Lyon, will be held at the Lorimer Chapel, Warriston Crematorium, Edinburgh, at 12 noon on Saturday 23 February 2019; followed by a Memorial Reception at 2pm at the Playfair Library, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh.

Olivia Parker, careers development officer at the Law Society, talks about whether employers are really engaged with fair access and highlights some of the pitfalls that are still regularly identified in the traineeship recruitment process. In the three years I’ve been working in our careers t

David Ballantyne has resumed practice, as a member of the Hastie Stable. Mr Ballantyne's experience is mainly in government legal work, having been the Attorney General in three separate countries: Tuvalu 1988-91, Turks & Caicos Islands 1992-98 and the Cayman Islands 1998-2003.

Two innovative US judges will give insights into their approach to justice at a special Faculty of Advocates event. Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren and Judge Victoria Pratt have agreed to be the speakers at a seminar on Thursday, 14 March.

Lawyers from Brodies visited Maggie's this week to find out how it uses donations to support people living with cancer ahead of their arctic adventure this month in aid of the charity.

Domestic abuse offenders could be given mandatory lie-detector tests upon release from prison under new proposals. The polygraph tests are among the measures included in the Domestic Abuse Bill, which would also introduce a ban on cross-examination of victims by their alleged abusers in family court

Pet dogs have been banned from public spaces in Tehran. Walking dogs in "public spaces, such as parks", and even driving them around in cars, will make pet owners liable for prosecution.

A woman who was assaulted by her mother when she was a baby has won a long-running legal battle for criminal injuries compensation after taking her appeal to the UK Supreme Court. The Inner House of the Court of Session had ruled that it was within the UK Government’s discr

Families are currently waiting up to eight years for fatal accident inquiries (FAI) to be conducted into the death of a loved one, figures obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats have revealed. A freedom of information request submitted by the party to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Servi

Professor Sir David Edward, the former European Court of Justice judge, said Brexit has left him receptive to Scottish independence. Sir David set out his views as a new pro-independence research group, Progress Scotland, launched.

The effects of a change in the law on workplace regulations introduced some five years ago are still to fully reveal themselves in Scotland, writes Lorna Ferguson. The Brexit story so far has involved fresh consideration of several long-standing legal, social and economic issues; an important one be