Case Reports

A petition by the BBC challenging the restrictions placed upon the reporting of an Employment Tribunal claim worth over £2 million against the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry has been refused by the Outer House of the Court of Session. The chair of the SCAI, Lady Smith, who took ov

A bench of five judges in the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary has refused an appeal against conviction by a man convicted of rapes occurring eight years apart from each other in a re-affirmation of the use of the Moorov doctrine in sexual offence cases. Mark Duthie&n

The Supreme Court has held that the sale and leaseback of an Aberdeenshire care home did not dispose of the seller’s entire interest in the property for the purposes of VAT legislation. The appellant, Balhousie Holdings Ltd, acquired the care home in Huntly in 2013. It was originally dete

A prisoner who was sentenced to an Order for Lifelong Restriction in September 2008 and was refused release by a tribunal of the Parole Board for Scotland has been unsuccessful in petitioning for a judicial review of its decision. Paul Hutton, who was given an OLR after committing offences

A “new media” journalist who observed part of the trial diet in the prosecution of former First Minister Alex Salmond for various sexual offences has been found by the High Court of Justiciary to be in contempt of court for disclosing information that could lead to the identifi

The UK Supreme Court has determined that the predominantly female retail employees of a major supermarket are able to use the employment contracts of predominantly male depot employees as a valid comparison in their equal pay claim.  The claimants sought compensation from Asda Stores Ltd&n

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