Case Reports

A man found guilty of murder who claimed that he acted in “self-defence” of a friend who he feared was about to be attacked has had an appeal against his conviction rejected. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary ruled that the appellant’s plea of “third party provocation” could

An Iraqi Kurd who was refused asylum, humanitarian protection and human rights protection in the UK has had an application for leave to appeal rejected. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that there were “no errors of law” which were “strongly arguable” and therefore the application fell

A pub manager who was barred from showing certain live football matches has been found in contempt of court after a broadcaster brought proceedings for breach of interdict. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that Robert Stewart, premises manager of The Village Inn in Edinburgh, wilfully breached

A man wanted by authorities in the United States of America to face bomb threat charges will not be extradited because of his failing health, a court has ruled. Prosecutors in the US wanted “tartan terrorist”, referred to as "SN" arrested and extradited to America to face trial over allegations

An American woman who challenged a sheriff’s decision that a dispute with her former husband over the care of their child should be determined in the United States rather than in Scotland has successfully appealed against the ruling. The Sheriff Appeal Court held that the sheriff “erred in law�

A prisoner who is seeking to challenge a decision to the effect that he would not progress to the open estate but had yet to be granted permission to proceed has had a motion to allow a minute of amendment dismissed as “incompetent”. The petitioner was seeking to amend the petition to bring his

An Irish man who claimed his conviction for selling drugs was unfair as it was based on evidence obtained by police entrapment has had his application unanimously declared inadmissible by the European Court of Human Rights, which concluded that the role of the police in the case had been essentially

The grandparents of a child who was placed in local authority care have failed in a legal challenge against a decision to refuse their application to be kinship carers. A judge in the Court of Session refused a petition for judicial review brought by “TM” and “PM”, who claimed that The Highl

A prisoner who complained he was not provided with appropriate rehabilitation courses has had his appeal unanimously dismissed by justices in the Supreme Court who held that he suffered no violation of his article 5 rights and that domestic interpretation of article 5(1)(a) ECHR should be consistent

An assessor who challenged a decision by a valuation appeal committee to remove a property from a council tax valuation list on the basis that it was no longer a dwelling house has successfully appealed against the determination. The Inner House of the Court of Session allowed an appeal by the Asses

A campaigner who challenged a Scottish local authority’s decision to grant planning permission for a development within a world heritage site has had a petition for judicial review dismissed. Simon Byrom raised proceedings over concern about the potential impact of the proposed development in Edin

A man who challenged a disposition on the basis that his parents “lacked capacity” when they signed the document and was granted reduction after a purported beneficiary withdrew her defences on the eve of a proof has been awarded the expenses of the action from the other party’s solicitor. A j

Duplicate bridge is not a ‘sport’ for the purposes of the VAT Directive and cannot be exempt as such, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled. The English Bridge Union (EBU) is a national body responsible for regulating and developing duplicate bridge in England. That card game is a

Lack of appropriate psychological care in the country of origin of a person who was tortured there in the past is not sufficient to allow that person to claim subsidiary protection, according to Advocate General Bot. A Member State does, however, retain its discretion to grant such a person admissio

A foreign student who was alleged to have breached a condition attached to his grant of a visa has successfully challenged a decision by the UK Government to curtail his leave to remain. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the decision by the Home Secretary to issue a notice revoking Muhammad