Case Reports

A council has successfully challenged a decision by the Scottish Ministers to grant planning permission for the development of a railfreight terminal on greenbelt land in North Lanarkshire. The Inner House of the Court of Session ruled that the Scottish Ministers failed to give “proper, adequate a

in bribery, he was a “bad leaver” in terms of the Glasgow-based logistics company’s article of association and was entitled on disposal of his shares to be paid only whichever was the lesser of their fair value or their subscription or par value. Mr Gray was found to have been aware of an arr

An 18-year-old motorist who was caught driving without insurance will not have his licence revoked after a sheriff found that there were “special reasons” for not endorsing it with penalty points. Sheriff Philip Mann ruled that Kyle Siegel was entitled to assume that his mother had arranged for

A man who claimed he was unaware that a document he signed included an indemnity has successfully challenged a sheriff’s decision to dismiss his case. The Sheriff Appeal Court allowed a proof before answer after ruling that the sheriff’s judgment was “completely inadequate” in that it failed

A former Navy officer who was jailed after being convicted of brandishing a knife and punching a 17-year-old boy which resulted in his victim having to undergo extensive dental treatment has successfully appealed against his sentence. The Criminal Appeal Court quashed the custodial sentence imposed

In today’s Grand Chamber judgment in the case of J.K. and Others v. Sweden the European Court of Human Rights held, by ten votes to seven, that there would be: a violation of article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights if the ord

The sister of a man with severe learning difficulties has failed in an appeal against a sheriff’s decision to appoint a local authority social worker as welfare guardian to her brother. The woman complained that the mental health officer who prepared a report which favoured the council’s applica

The owners and publishers of the now defunct News of the World, which was ordered to pay £200,000 in damages after the former MSP Tommy Sheridan won a defamation action against the Scottish edition of the newspaper, have had an application for a new trial refused. Judges in the Inner House of the C

The beneficiaries of a trust fund which was created by a now deceased woman to reduce the impact of inheritance tax on her family have had a petition for rectification of a deed of appointment refused by a judge in the Court of Session. Lord Turnbull ruled that the deed accurately expressed the inte

A man found guilty of stalking who claimed that the sheriff “misdirected” the jury by failing to advise them of the need for his conduct to have caused “actual fear or alarm” has failed in an appeal against conviction, after the Criminal Appeal Court ruled that the misdirection was not a “

A man who claimed he didn’t receive a big enough discount on his sentence after being jailed for admitting an assault to severe injury charge has had an appeal dismissed. The Criminal Appeal Court refused the appeal by Ernest Findlay, who was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment after being give

Four legal claims worth tens of thousands of pounds each arising out health care products for the treatment of urinary incontinence have been remitted to the Court of Session. A judge allowed the actions to be remitted from the sheriff court after ruling that “cause had been shown” as there was

A man accused of drugs-related offences who challenged the admissibility of “expert” evidence of a police officer whose report included content copied from the “Ask Frank” government-funded website has failed in an appeal. The Criminal Appeal Court upheld the sheriff’s decision to repel th

A man accused of a statutory breach of the peace and resisting arrest has had the complaint against him dismissed after successfully challenging a summary sheriff’s decision to adjourn his trial. The Sheriff Appeal Court deserted the complaint simpliciter after ruling that the sheriff failed to �

A gamekeeper who was found guilty of killing a buzzard after a sheriff rejected his special defence of alibi has failed in an appeal against his conviction. By a majority of two-to-one, the Criminal Appeal Court refused the appeal after ruling that the sheriff provided “adequate reasons” for acc