Case Reports

The Abduction Convention cannot be invoked if by the time of the alleged wrongful act, whether by removal or retention, the child is habitually resident in the state where the request for return is lodged, justices in the Supreme Court have ruled. Lord Hughes gives the lead judgment with whom Lady H

A woman who challenged a confiscation order imposed after her brother was convicted of drugs offences in an attempt to prevent the sale of a property in Edinburgh of which she claimed to be the “beneficial owner” has had her application rejected. A judge in the Court of Session refused to vary t

Two asylum seekers who claimed that the reduction in financial support payable to them was “unlawful” have had their legal challenge dismissed. The petitioners argued that the 30% cut in asylum support available to them in respect of themselves and their dependent children breached EU law and vi

A 14-year-old boy who raped and sexual assaulted two younger girls has had his sentence of six years’ detention cut following an appeal after judges ruled that the custodial term imposed was “excessive”. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary imposed a sentence of three years and nin

A cross-party group of members of the Scottish, UK and European parliaments who were seeking judicial review of the UK Government’s policy that the United Kingdom’s notification under Article 50(2) of the Treaty of the European Union will not be withdrawn have been refused permission to proceed.

A cyclist who was struck by a 4×4 towing a trailer while taking part in a bike race has been awarded £55,000 damages. Graeme Daly, who was participating in a 10-mile team time trial event in Perth and Kinross, was seeking £110,000 following the collision in 2015.

A man accused of assaulting a nursing assisting whose plea of not guilty was accepted by the Crown on the basis that he was unable by reason of mental disorder to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct has had an appeal against a sheriff’s decision to impose a compulsion order dismissed. The S

The parents of four children in respect of whom a Scottish local authority’s applications for permanence orders were refused have had their claims for the expenses of the action dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session held that while in practice expenses are not ordinarily awarded following per

A prisoner who claimed that Scottish prison authorities “unlawfully” opened mail addressed to him and that the failure to treat correspondence between inmates and legal regulatory bodies of of other parts of the United Kingdom as confidential was “irrational” has had his case dismissed. Will

Asylum seekers may not be subjected to a psychological test in order to determine their sexual orientation, the Court of Justice of European Union(CJEU) has determined. The performance of such a test, the court said, amounts to a disproportionate interference in the private life of the asylum seeker

A man who was fined after being found guilty of sexual assault has successfully challenged his automatic five-year registration as a sex offender. The Sheriff Appeal Court ruled that the notification requirements imposed for an offence which the sheriff considered to be “at the lower end of the sc

Two patients detained at low and medium secure psychiatric units who claimed that the blanket ban on smoking in the grounds of the mental health hospitals breached their human rights have had their actions dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the complete ban on smoking was “lawfu

A man acting under a power of attorney who challenged the lawfulness of a Scottish local authority’s decisions relating to the provision of community care services to his elderly mother has had his appeal refused. The petitioner and reclaimer “PQ” claimed that the respondent Glasgow City Counc

A property developer who entered into an agreement with a bank to sell 26 homes he had purchased with loan funding after he became liable to repay more than £2.5 million in loans is challenging a bid by the lender to terminate the contract. The bank claimed that the pursuer failed pay the rental in

Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems can bring an individual action in Austria against Facebook Ireland, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled. However, he cannot bring proceedings on behalf of seven other users in Austria, Germany and India who assigned him their claims for