Case Reports

A foster carer who was deregistered by a Scottish local authority after an unfounded allegation was made against her husband by a child in their care has had a legal challenge against the council’s decision dismissed. The woman claimed that she had been “punished” when she had “done no wrong

A man found guilty of a statutory breach of the peace who claimed there was “insufficient proof” that he committed the offence has had an appeal against conviction refused. The Criminal Appeal Court refused the appeal after ruling that where there is a single positive identification “very litt

The detention of an Algerian national who acquired permanent residence in 2003 and 28 criminal convictions by 2012, pending a decision to deport him, was not unlawful, the Supreme Court has ruled – as it additionally declined to make a preliminary reference to the Court of Justice of the European

A man who alleged that he was sexually abused as a child in a Catholic boarding school more than 50 years ago will not be allowed to pursue his claim. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the pursuer’s case failed on the basis that any obligation of the defenders to make reparation for any w

The parents of a child who suffered brain damage during birth have failed in a challenge to a judge’s decision to refuse their claim for damages against a health board over hospital’s staff’s alleged negligence. The couple argued that the Lord Ordinary’s judgment did not constitute a “reas

Bills of suspension against incidental warrants such as those to take samples or to search remain subject to the “supervisory jurisdiction” of the High Court of Justiciary rather than the Sheriff Appeal Court, appeal judges have ruled. The Criminal Appeal Court held that such bills are still for

A Hungarian national of Roma origin’s complaint that the authorities failed to investigate allegations she suffered racial abuse and threats from participants in an anti-Roma march has been upheld by a majority at the European Court of Human Rights. The court considered in particular that, given t

Advocate General Wathelet of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has stated the posting of a hyperlink to a website which published photos without authorisation does not in itself constitute a copyright infringement. The motivation of the person who placed the hyperlink and the fact th

A motorist who was given eight penalty points on his driving licence after being convicted of “tailgating” another vehicle on a motorway has failed in an appeal against what he claimed was a “manifestly excessive” sentence. The Sheriff Appeal Court refused the appeal after ruling that the sh

The execution of a European Arrest Warrant must be deferred if there is a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment because of the conditions of detention of the person concerned in the member state where the warrant was issued. And, if the existence of that risk cannot be discounted within a reas

A man found guilty of carrying an “offensive weapon” in public after witnesses saw him brandishing two knives and chasing youths in a street “as if he was going to stab someone” has failed in an appeal against conviction. The Criminal Appeal Court dismissed the appellant’s claim that the s

A man found guilty of being concerned in the supply of cocaine who lodged a special defence of incrimination which he later had to withdraw due to a lack of evidence to support it has failed in an appeal against conviction after claiming that prosecutors failed in their duty to disclose information

The man convicted of the “limbs in the loch” murder has had an appeal against a decision of the Scottish Information Commissioner concerning a freedom of information request he made to the former Strathclyde Police over its handling of the murder inquiry refused. William Beggs argued that the de

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled 13-4 that there was no violation of article 2, the right to life - investigation, of the European Convention on Human Rights, regarding the UK's failure to prosecute anyone after police fatally shot Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian national mi

A cyclist who was injured after being “catapulted” over his bike when the front wheel hit a metal strip in the road has successfully sued a Scottish council after a judge ruled that the roads authority was liable. Lady Wolffe ) in the Court of Session held that the defenders were in breach of th