News

A report has called on ministers to increase the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland to 16 and to establish a youth justice system for offenders up to the age of 21. Commissioned by the charity Action for Children as well as Bruce Adamson, the children and young people's commissioner, the Kil

The Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC has welcomed the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland report on the prosecution of young people and has instructed work in response to its recommendations. Mr Wolffe said: “Earlier this year I commissioned the Inspectorate of Prosecution to revie

Uncertainty over Brexit is "jangling nerves" for Irish law firms, according to a new report by professional services firm Smith & Williamson. The 2018 Smith & Williamson Irish Law Firm Survey shows that most Irish law firms anticipate a strong year ahead, with revenues and profits continuing

The Scottish Borders courthouse is to reopen at the weekend, after a £430,000 restoration. Built in 1803 as the Sheriff Court, it is where Sir Walter Scott dispensed justice to the people of Selkirkshire.

In the first of a two-part series, Glasgow law student Poppy Mulligan reflects on how studying abroad in the US inspired her and widened her horizons. Poppy studied for the LLB at Glasgow University (2013-2017) and for an LLM at Cornell University (2017-2018). In July this year, she passed the

The judgment in yesterday's edition of SLN mistakenly included quotations from lawyers at Clan Childlaw. These were, in fact, meant in respect of another case. We apologise for this error and any inconvenience caused.

An Irish football club has apologised after it falsely reported the death of one of its players in order to postpone a match. Dublin club Ballybrack FC told the Leinster Senior League that Fernando Nuno La-Fuente had been killed in a road traffic accident, when he had in fact returned to his native

A decision that a boy was not a “relevant person” for the purposes of attending a children’s hearing concerning his baby half-sister did not breach the older child’s human rights, appeal judges have ruled. The Inner House of the Court of Session upheld a sheriff&rsq

New rules have been published which aim to enhance access to justice by preventing court actions relating to the environment being “prohibitively expensive” to members of the public. Following a request from the Scottish government, in September 2015 the Scottish Civil Justice Council (S

The Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland has today published a thematic report on the prosecution of young people. The inspection tracked the journey of 95 young offenders reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) who fell into three categories – under 16 years, 16/

Lord Sumption has warned that a functioning justice system is "not discretionary" but is "fundamental to the existence of the state and to our existence as a civil society", and described the public's scepticism towards the presumption of innocence as a "travesty". The Supreme Court justice, who wil

Russia violated the article 11, 13 and 14 rights of seven LGBT activists by refusing them permission to hold LGBT rallies, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found. Handing down its judgment in Alekseyev and Others v. Russia, the court said the case was no different from the case of Alek

Advisers are increasingly optimistic that partnerships with accountants and solicitors will help drive new business in the year ahead, research from Prudential shows. Its 2018 Adviser Barometer found that 57 per cent of advisers are expecting an increase in leads from law firms and accountancy pract

Scotland’s chief statistician today released domestic abuse figures recorded by the Police Scotland in 2017-18, noting a one per cent rise in incidents. Levels of domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland have remained relatively stable since 2011-12, with around 58.000 to 60,000

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has welcomed a report from a Holyrood committee on the steps the Scottish Parliament can take in order to become a better human rights guarantor. Commenting on the Equalities and Human Rights Committee report, Judith Robertson, chair of the commiss