Case Reports

A judicial review petition by 27 religious leaders in Scotland challenging the legitimacy of the Scottish Ministers’ decision to close places of worship in January 2021 has succeeded in the Outer House of the Court of Session.  Revered Dr William Philip, as well as 26 other petitioners fr

A petition for judicial review of the legislative competence of parts of the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 brought by a private company has been rejected by a judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session. For Women Scotland Ltd contended that parts of the 2018 Act we

A Full Bench of the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary has determined that a nobile officium petition made by a complainer in a rape case after she was not notified of an application by the accused to lead evidence of their sexual history is competent under the doctrine.  The petition

A property development firm has failed to establish that it was entitled to a reconveyance of a tram line route sold to its predecessors in title that was subsequently re-acquired by the local authority that originally sold it under a compulsory purchase order. Granton Central Developments Ltd, who

The Civil Division of the Sheriff Appeal Court has remitted a claim made under Simple Procedure rules for the return of a television to its original owner back to the sheriff after it was ruled that he was not entitled to determine that its prospective purchaser had failed to comply with an unless o

A Crown appeal concerning whether it was entitled to libel in a docket the occurrence of an accused’s sexual assault conviction in another jurisdiction has been allowed by the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary. Ronald Adams, the respondent, had previously pled guilty to a simil

A woman whose ex-partner forged her signature on a standard security over her home in Edinburgh has successfully had the document reduced by Edinburgh Sheriff Court. Gillian Pearce stated she was not aware of the security granted in favour of David Myers until two years after its

A Crown appeal against the Sheriff Appeal Court’s decision to quash the convictions of three men who wore allegedly offensive T-shirts to a football match between Celtic FC and Linfield FC has succeeded in the High Court of Justiciary. Daniel Ward, Martin Macaulay and Ryan

A sheriff has ordered the discharge under the Extradition Act 2003 of an Albanian national who had a European Arrest Warrant issued against him after he failed to attend a trial for attempted murder in Italy.  An application was brought on behalf of a court in Trieste, Italy, by the&n

An appeal by the Crown to the High Court of Justiciary against the sentencing of a man convicted of statutory sexual offences involving his niece, a child under the age of 13, has succeeded. At the original sentencing diet of the respondent, JB, aged 55, the sheriff made a community p

A judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session has ruled that three former members of a centuries-old Aberdeen association who were expelled for an alleged rule breach were not immune to expulsion by virtue of a change in their membership status. Kevin Brown, Alan Davidson, and&nb

A sheriff in Glasgow has made an order under the Forced Marriage etc. (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Act 2011 in order to prevent the parents of an Indian student studying in the UK from attempting to force her into a marriage. The pursuer, referred to as AB, alleged that he

The Civil Division of the Sheriff Appeal Court has allowed an appeal by an Edinburgh university after a sheriff dismissed its action for payment against a former postgraduate student dismissed for jurisdictional reasons. Heriot-Watt University sought payment of £7,000 from its f

The High Court of Justiciary has refused six conjoined appeals against conviction by a group of men convicted of conspiring to murder a family in Glasgow. Brian Ferguson, Andrew Gallacher, Robert Pickett, Andrew Sinclair, John Hardie, and Peter Bain were sente

A man who was imprisoned for carrying a stun gun disguised as a mobile phone has been successful in challenging the length of his sentence in the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary. Ronald McMahon, aged 57, pled guilty to an offence under section 5(1A)(a) of the Firearms Act 1968