Case Reports

The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary has allowed a Crown appeal against the sentence imposed on a father who was convicted of assaulting his children, taking the opportunity in dicta to urge Scottish courts to recognise the gravity of the “prevalent, insidious” and “ext

A lord ordinary has granted the Scottish ministers’ petition for eviction orders against a group of Irish travellers occupying land planned for development, despite their submissions that removal without the provision of culturally appropriate alternative accommodation would violate their huma

Two former members of staff at the New School Butterstone, which was closed in 2018 following allegations of physical mistreatment against pupils, have lost appeals in their damages claims against the Care Inspectorate, after the Sheriff Appeal Court found their averments to be lacking in relevancy

A lord ordinary has relied on the reforms implemented by the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 to refuse access to the supervisory jurisdiction to a former student visa-holder who sought to challenge the Upper Tribunal’s decision to refuse permission to appeal against an adverse immigration

A lord ordinary has allowed a Glasgow councillor’s petition for judicial review of the Standards Commission for Scotland’s decision to reject numerous evidentiary productions she sought to lodge to defend herself against claims of having breached conduct standards through social media ac

A lord ordinary has ordered that the director of an insolvent healthcare waste disposal company be disqualified from company management for nine years, after finding that his conduct in the run-up to the company’s liquidation amounted to an “egregious breach” of his director’

The Outer House of the Court of Session has exercised its parens patriae jurisdiction to authorise the treatment of three seriously ill children, despite their parents refusing to do so on account of their religious and personal beliefs. Three children, believed to be at risk of severe harm or death

A sheriff at Kirkcaldy has refused a father’s attempt to seek supervised contact with his daughter, after finding that there was no evidence to suggest the risk indicated by the father’s previous sexual abuse of his daughter’s half-sister had materially reduced. The minuter was ref

A lord ordinary has refused a life prisoner’s appeal against the Parole Board for Scotland’s refusal to allow him release on licence, after both previous attempts at release ended in recall on account of serious reoffending. The Parole Board for Scotland refused in February 2026 to allow

A lord ordinary has refused the General Medical Council’s petition to continue an interim conditional registration order against a medical practitioner, months after a charge of possessing indecent images of children against the practitioner was dropped on account of a lack of evidence. An ord

The Inner House of the Court of Session has upheld Moray Council’s decision to refuse planning permission to a large-scale bioenergy plant, despite apparent climate benefits, on the basis of its potential to contribute to development sprawl. The appellants sought planning permission to constru

An anonymous advocate, alongside the Faculty, has won an appeal against the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission’s decision to allow allegations of serious dishonesty against him to proceed to investigation without first receiving supporting evidence or hearing representations. After receiving

The UK Supreme Court has allowed an appeal brought by a private hire driver, after finding that the flat weekly fee imposed on all drivers working for the respondent taxi company amounted to unlawful discrimination against part-time workers. The appellant argued that a flat weekly fee levied on driv

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal has declined to make a determination in favour of two complainers who alleged that the installation of surveillance devices at the home of their next-door neighbours was unlawful and contrary to their rights under Article 8 ECHR. Seeking to investigate years of alle

The procurator fiscal at Edinburgh has regained the power to prosecute a man charged with stalking, after the Sheriff Appeal Court found that the trial sheriff’s decision to desert the matter simpliciter on account of repeated delays in hearing witnesses was made without a proper basis. Repeat