Case Reports

A Northern Ireland woman has successfully appealed the decision of the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal to order a stay on her application for damages for the state’s failure to carry out a prompt investigation into the circumstances of her son’s death, in violation of Article 2 ECHR. Fi

A long-term prisoner who claimed that the prison authorities acted “unlawfully” in failing to properly progress his application for home detention curfew had his legal challenge dismissed, but the judge later conceded that he ought to have allowed the case to proceed to a full hearing. T

The High Court of Justiciary has published its reasons for rejecting an application for permission to appeal by a man found guilty of posting a “grossly offensive” video online showing a “Nazi dog”. Mark Meechan, who was fined £800 for breaching the Commu

A judge has dismissed an application by the father of the late James Bulger to amend a lifelong anonymity order protecting the identity of one of his son’s killers. Ralph Bulger wanted information about Jon Venables’ (JV) new identity to be made public after the murderer was jailed

An environmental campaign group which sought reduction of a decision by Aberdeen City Council to grant planning permission for the development of a new stadium for Aberdeen Football Club have had their legal challenge dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session refused a

The High Court of Justiciary has clarified the status of CCTV footage for the purposes of corroboration, confirming that where the only evidence of the crime libelled is the recorded footage and where its provenance is established, it can provide “sufficient evidence” of the &l

A private healthcare provider which sued a Scottish health board claiming it was “contractually obliged” to pay for a mental health patient’s continuing care at a hospital in England has had its case dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session upheld an argument by Hi

The Criminal Appeal Court has reiterated its warning to defence lawyers over the “derogatory and insulting” questioning of rape complainers and criticised a judge for “wholly inappropriate” comments made about the evidence of a witness during the course of a trial.

The widow of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has been granted a declaration that the state has failed to deliver an Article 2 compliant investigation into the death of her husband, who was shot and killed by loyalist paramilitaries in collusion with the UK security forces. In a unanimous jud

A former sheriff has been struck off the solicitors’ roll for a “catalogue of serious and reprehensible behaviour”. Hugh Neilson accepted that he was guilty of “professional misconduct” after a number of complaints from clients.

A widow whose husband died after being choked by a pub bouncer is entitled to an insurance payout after appeal judges dismissed an appeal by insurers of the door steward’s former employers. The Inner House of the Court of Session upheld a decision of the Lord Ordinary that an insuran

A woman who sued an airline after claiming to have suffered both physical and psychiatric injuries following a crash which occurred while she was travelling on a bus from an aircraft to an airport terminal building has settled her case out of court. Caroline Delaney was awarded £9,200 aft

A Syrian asylum-seeker whose challenge to removal to Bulgaria on human rights grounds was dismissed as “clearly unfounded” has successfully appealed against the decision. The Inner House of the Court of Session allowed an appeal by Mohammad Racheed against a Lord Ordi

Professional searcher firms owe a duty of care to creditors who have registered an inhibition, the continuing effectiveness of which depends on it being disclosed by the search carried out, the Sheriff Appeal Court has ruled. The court refused an appeal by a firm of searchers, upholding a

A man found guilty of murder for a second time following a re-trial had had an appeal against his sentence dismissed. Cameron Laurie, who was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum custodial period of 18 years after being convicted, along with co-accused Ryan Gibb, of the murder of James Chad