Opinion

Conor Gearty, professor of human rights law at LSE Department of Law, offers his initial thoughts on the historic Miller/Cherry judgment. In March 1954, that distinguished forerunner of today’s politics, senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin, was directly challenged by the famed American journalis

Jacqueline Cook explains the details of 'build to rent'. There may be no place like it but what, exactly, makes a home? Developers and planners seek to answer this question in an increasingly sophisticated residential sector, one which continues to diversify to meet evolving occupier needs. As a res

A BBC article published at the end of last month highlighted a recommendation made by lobbyist group Greenpeace to introduce a national agency to enforce building standards in Scotland. The organisation believes that a centralised compliance system is required to ensure building standards are met by

Greg MacDougall reflects on access to justice and looks at the past, present and future of the resolution of claims in Scotland The promotion of access to justice for the resolution of claims in a fair and balanced way is an admirable aim. How should we gauge access to justice?

We have an old scrapbook of newspaper cuttings in the records of the Faculty of Advocates, the independent body of lawyers admitted to practise as advocates in Scottish courts. One, from 1919, about the possibility of the legal profession being opened to women, catches the eye. A representative of t

In Aberdeen this week more than 36,000 global oil and gas professionals have gathered to debate, lecture, promote and celebrate the achievements of the energy industry at the biennial SPE Offshore Europe conference and exhibition. Offshore Europe is being hosted for the first time in the city’

In October 2018 the Deputy First Minister John Swinney committed to establishing a financial redress scheme for survivors of historical child abuse in care in Scotland. This will require legislation to be passed by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish government has now launched a public consultati

The Scottish government has launched a consultation on implementing section 11 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, which supports the introduction of independent child trafficking guardians. Child law expert Nicola Hogg explains the details.  The act was passed in Oct

Fraser Mitchell explains the details of the infrastructure levy regulations in Scotland's new planning legislation. The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 has arrived following the most recent review of the Scottish planning system. In amongst significant changes to development planning and modest changes

Paul Craig, professor of English law at St John's College, Oxford and an authority on administrative and EU law, writes about important issues of constitutional principle and law raised by the prospect of prorogation as well as those concerning fact and causation. Constitutional principle and law

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

In the wake of a possible no-deal Brexit, the law surrounding consumerism could be subject to various vital changes, writes Jeremy Glen. Legislation currently governing the protection of consumers is essential in the development of the internal market. It ensures that consumers within the EU are pro

What do Elton John, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kim Kardashian have in common, aside from being well-known names if you are a follower or fan of celebrity culture? They have all made news headlines with reports of surrogate mothers providing them with their little bundles of joy.

The ‘Brexit means Brexit’ refrain from those supporting the UK’s departure from the European Union has become rather well-worn – especially when those that state this are seemingly prepared to overlook a more important point: the law is the law, writes Elaine Motion. On 6 Sep