Opinion

Tom O’Connor travels to Poland where he finds pressure on the independent judiciary is intensifying and the country’s defiant judges in a grim mood. An EU fine of €1 million a day is, it appears, a price worth paying for Poland’s populist government which is garbing its sustai

Protection from discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief was introduced in 2003 and subsequently included as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010. Belief is defined as any religious or philosophical belief (including a lack of belief) but it is specifically the area of phil

Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF UK and a former senior crown prosecutor, comments on the legality of plans to limit assembly near abortion clinics in Scotland. This week, Nicola Sturgeon committed to working with the Green MSP, Gillian McKay’s attempt to impose censorship zones acro

A six-year long trademark dispute between Sky and SkyKick will finally be decided by the UK’s Supreme Court later this year – a decision which may have significant implications for brand owners. In the UK, trademark applications must designate not only the trademark itself, but also the

The work of the independent Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, chaired by Lady Poole, is underway, write Fiona Killen and Hazel Moffat. Its key aim is to report on lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, balancing the need for a rigorous inquiry with a desire to report as soon as possible on those lesso

Interest rates are on the rise and expected to hit unprecedented levels with some observers predicting a recession on the horizon – both of which will impact commercial tenants and landlords undertaking rent reviews. An open market rent review is where the new rent is calculated as what a tena

Now that the 'not proven' debate has been settled, defence advocate Tony Lenehan writes about the impending juryless trials pilot and questions the authority on which it has been proposed. I cannot now remember what I was doing in 1994 which distracted me from watching the OJ Simpson trial on televi

In Oil States Industries (UK) Limited v "S" Limited; Lagan Building Contractors Limited (in administration); John Hansen and Stuart Irwin, the joint administrators [2022] CSOH 52, the argument related to the development of a new office and production facilities for the pursuer. The first defender pr

Yesterday, the judgment in the case of SD as legal representative of her son, LD v Grampian Health Board, known as NHS Grampian, was issued by the Court of Session. By way of background, on 24 August 2008, the pursuer, SD, gave birth to her son LD at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital. LD suffered severe a

In an era where consumer disputes are increasingly progressed and decided via electronic means by companies such as major online retailers, banks and travel agencies, those attending court for the first time in civil disputes can find the process daunting and time-consuming. The issues presented by

UK businesses can expect a crackdown on furlough fraud after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) revealed that almost 14,000 whistleblowers had come forward with information about misuse of the scheme. In total, officials received 13,775 tip-offs from employees about fraud against the furlough scheme co

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) has successfully appealed a disciplinary decision of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal (MPT) concerning a doctor. This is the first reported Scottish case in which the PSA succeeded in persuading the Court of Session to grant suc

James Chalmers and Fiona Leverick respond to recent articles about jurors’ assessment of credibility in criminal trials. Our recent study of the way in which jurors assess credibility in criminal trials has been the subject of some attention in Scottish Legal News. In this study, we reported o

Increased interest in and enjoyment of the Scottish countryside by the public over the last few years has resulted in many not just taking to the hills, but enjoying land by the water too, and Scotland's rivers are renowned for the quality of fishing by those that enjoy the sport. You may have heard

Scottish Housing Associations can hardly have failed to notice the increasing level of debate within the sector in recent times around the themes of sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance matters). Participation of individual RSLs and their boards in the debate has, so far, bee