Case Reports

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has made a preliminary ruling that workplace rules preventing the wearing of religiously mandated clothing do not of themselves constitute direct discrimination based on religious belief.  The question was referred to the CJEU by the Labour Cour

A man who was convicted of assaulting his friend and ex-partner and of attempted murder of the former has had his sentence reduced by 3 years after an appeal to the High Court of Justiciary.  Colin Marshall was sentenced in cumulo by the trial sheriff to 18 years’ imprisonment with a cust

A former Shetland teacher who was convicted of engaging in sexual activities with two students has his sentence reduced by three months on appeal to the High Court of Justiciary. Kieran Malcolmson was convicted of one offence under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2000 and another unde

A petition for judicial review by a hospice challenging the decision of Healthcare Improvement Scotland to publish a report containing details of a complaint made against it has been refused by a judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session.  The anonymous petitioner, Y, argued that it had

The Sheriff Appeal Court has reduced the sentence of a man convicted of sexually touching a teenager after he appealed against his sentence and lodged a bill of suspension seeking to suspend the sentence imposed by the trial sheriff. William Hepburn, aged 79 at sentencing, was originally s

A Scottish conservation organisation has failed in its legal challenge against a decision of The Highland Council to grant planning permission to build a space port and associated facilities near Tongue. Wildland Ltd challenged the respondent’s decision to allow a planning appli

A petition by the father of a young girl with complex medical problems against a decision of the General Medical Council not to sanction a doctor whose report resulted in their child being temporarily removed from their care has been rejected by the Outer House of the Court of Session

The High Court of Justiciary has refused three appeals on behalf of men convicted of abduction and rape based on advances in medical science after their cases were referred to the court by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission. Brian Meighan, Kevin Kane, and David Pugh each re

The Inner House of the Court of Session has refused an Iraqi citizen of Kurdish ethnicity who claimed to be involved in a blood feud permission to appeal the refusal of his judicial review petition against the Upper Tribunal. HMH, the appellant, claimed that he was at a real risk of persec

The nephew of a deceased farmer has successfully had a number of prejudicial deeds granted by his late uncle in favour of a finance company set aside by a commercial judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session. William Lindsay, the executor of the late Euan Lindsay, argued that Outloo

A judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session has reduced a decision not to progress a prisoner serving a life sentence in closed conditions at HMP Edinburgh to the open estate after he petitioned for a judicial review of the decision. George Smith was jailed for the murder of hi

A judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session has permitted a petition by a US-based non-profit organisation for judicial review of the approach taken by the Scottish Ministers in applying for Unexplained Wealth Orders to proceed. The Avaaz Foundation also sought a determina

A Nigerian woman who claimed to be at risk of trafficking if she was returned to her home country has had her appeal against the refusal of her judicial review petition refused by the Inner House of the Court of Session. The appellant, OA, argued that the Upper Tribunal had made an error o

A judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session has refused to recall an interlocutor relating to a motion for interim damages in a personal injury case after the defender’s legal team failed to intimate opposition to the motion in time. Wojciech Kosno sought damages from&nbs

The Sheriff Appeal Court has upheld the decision of a commercial sheriff in a contractual dispute between a housebuilder and a client in Aberdeen who held that the client was required to make an interim payment following the resignation of the firm to which payment applications required to