Case Reports

A soldier found guilty of threatening the “mass murder” of Muslims after claiming he was “unable by reason of mental disorder to appreciate the nature or wrongfulness of the conduct” has had an appeal against his conviction rejected. Scott Mackay argued that the sheriff “misdirected” the

Two drug dealers convicted of being concerned in supply of drugs with a street value of some £400,000 have had their prison sentences reduced following an appeal. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that the sentences imposed on Gary Corkindale and Alexander Connelly were “excessive” and substitute

Legislation in Russia banning the promotion of homosexuality breaches freedom of expression and is discriminatory, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. Three gay rights activists complained about legislation in Russia banning the promotion of homosexuality, also known as the “gay propagan

A Chinese asylum seeker whose application was refused has successfully challenged the Home Secretary’s decision to refuse to treat further submissions in a human rights claim as a “fresh claim” after a judge ruled that the wrong legal test had been applied. The further submissions were based u

Making available and managing an online platform for sharing copyright-protected works, such as ‘The Pirate Bay’, may constitute an infringement of copyright because the operators of that platform play an essential role in making those works available, the Court of Justice of the European Union

A man found guilty of brandishing a knife at two men who came after him with nunchuks and a baton has failed in an appeal against his conviction after claiming the non-availability of CCTV evidence resulted in an “unfair” trial. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that there was no “miscarriage of

A disabled woman who converted a bedroom in her rented housing association property into a second living room so she could have a living space separate from her carers was still liable for the higher rate of the so-called “bedroom tax”, appeal judges have ruled. The Inner House of the Court of S

A party litigant who argued that a solicitors’ firm instructed by the other party should be barred from acting because one of its consultants had previously represented her while working as a partner in a firm which merged with the opponent’s firm has her claim dismissed. By a majority of two-to

A woman who challenged the legality of differential treatment of Northern Ireland residents who are not able to undergo an abortion free-of-charge under the NHS in England, has had her appeal to the Supreme Court dismissed by a 3:2 majority. Delivering the leading majority judgment of the Court, Lor

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) does have the power to re-categorise certain complaints which it had previously classified as “hybrid” complaints involving both a lawyer’s conduct and the services provided. By a majority of two-to-one, judges in the Inner House of the Court of

A warrant authorising the police to enter the offices of a London law firm and to take possession of documents relating to the “acquisition, running, administration and disposal of the assets” of Rangers Football Club was suspended after appeal judges ruled that its terms were “oppressive”.

It is incompatible with EU law to require a worker to take leave first before being able to establish whether he is entitled to be paid for it, according to Advocate General Tanchev. In circumstances where an employer has not provided a worker with paid leave, the right to paid leave carries over un

A Turkish girl left with severe neurological damage following an operation suffered a violation of her article 8 rights right to respect for private and family life after the domestic courts refused her a second expert report, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. The case concerned two high

An Austrian politician whom a TV programme said was “usually surrounded by little brown rats” suffered no article 6 violation, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. In its decision in the case of Haupt v. Austria, the European Court of Human Rights has unanimously declared the applicatio

In its Chamber judgment in the case of Trabajo Rueda v Spain the European Court of Human Rights held, by six votes to one, that there had been: a violation of article 8 (right to respect for private life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case concerned the seizure of Mr Trabajo Rueda�