Case Reports

A motorist found guilty of using a mobile phone while driving who claimed that the justice of the peace’s conduct of the proceedings breached his right to a fair trial has had his appeal against conviction dismissed. The complainer alleged that the justice demonstrated “bias” by br

Trustees of the Scottish Solicitors Staff Pension Fund who raised an action against a legal firm and its former partners to recover a £90,000 deficit in the fund have successfully appealed against a judge’s decision to dismiss their claim. The Inner House of the Court of Session allowed

A request for a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a ruling on the question of whether the United Kingdom can unilaterally revoke its notice of intention to the leave the EU has been refused. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the question being asked was “hypo

A Chinese asylum seeker who sought to challenge a decision by the Home Office to refuse to treat her further representations based on extracts from an expert’s report in another case as a “fresh claim” has had her application dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session considered th

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has lost an appeal to the UK Supreme Court in which it sought declarations that the current law on abortion in Northern Ireland is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights in cases of rape, incest, an

The publishers of the Daily Record have been fined £80,000 after pleading guilty to contempt of court over articles which appeared in the newspaper and on its website relating to two separate criminal proceedings. The article in relation to the accused in the first case named him and

A man found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice while being held on remand by phoning friends on the outside to bribe a witness not to identify him in an ID parade after he had been accused of attempted murder had his appeal against convicted rejected. The appellant argued that the

The term ‘spouse’ within the meaning of the provisions of EU law on freedom of residence for EU citizens and their family members includes spouses of the same sex, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled. Although the member states have the freedom whether or not to authoris

A woman awaiting a £75,000 payout following a successful employment tribunal case against her former bosses who argued that the lack of a statutory power of arrestment to enable the tribunal to protect an award breached her rights under European law has had her claim dismissed. A judge in the

A woman who fell over a large stone while walking in the grounds of a Scottish estate has had her action for damages dismissed. The All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court ruled that the pursuer, Louise McKevitt, failed to prove that the defenders, the National Trust for Scotland, breached their

A man found guilty of sexual offences against two children almost 17 years apart has had his conviction quashed following an appeal. The High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court ruled that the similarities between the offences were not “sufficiently compelling” to overcome the “very s

A prisoner who was found to be entitled to damages following a serious assault by another inmate after warning a prison officer that his attacker had previously threatened him has had the decision upheld by appeal judges. Keith Porter was convicted of attempted murder following the attack on Daniel

A bank which has been seeking to call up £2.5 million in loans granted to a husband and wife for the purpose of purchasing and renovating their new home has failed in an appeal against a judge’s decision to prevent the so-called “vulture fund” from bankrupting the couple. The

The Scottish Legal Aid Board has successfully appealed against a judge’s ruling to reduce its decision to grant civil legal aid to a man who was seeking to challenge the lawfulness of a local authority’s determinations relating to the provision of community care services to his elderly a

The Sheriff Appeal Court has published a judgment in three test cases concerning the court’s approach in undefended actions under the simple procedure rules. The court allowed appeals by Cabot Financial UK Ltd against decisions to dismiss its undefended actions for payment, after ruling that t