Opinion

The introduction of group procedure (class actions) in Scotland in 2020 has given litigation-savvy claimants another choice of forum in which to raise a class action. Under the new procedure, groups of two or more people with the same, similar, or related claims, can unite to raise proceedings in a

The recent Scottish government consultation in respect of its new Land Reform Bill included proposals in relation to a new form of agricultural tenancy that would allow the tenant considerable freedom to use the land within the tenancy for environmental purposes including planting trees and carbon s

Ruth Crawford QC writes on the measures the Faculty of Advocates has taken to protect lawyers' wellbeing beyond the pandemic. The past few years have been characterised by constant, ongoing change for everyone due to the pandemic. Life at the Faculty of Advocates has been no exception. With the stri

Stacy Keen, senior associate at Pinsent Masons, urges businesses and lawyers to take caution over Russia sanctions targets following a money laundering red alert. A “red alert” issued by the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (JMLIT) outlines the expectations of UK regulators

Calum MacLeod, partner at Harper Macleod LLP, looks at the future of land reform in Scotland. Earlier this month, supporters of the Langholm Initiative, the south of Scotland’s largest community buyout, welcomed the news it had completed another successful fundraising campaign.

New legislation around short-term lets means big changes are on the way. This could spell bad news for anyone who rents out rooms or complete flats in tenemental properties in the capital to holidaymakers, tourists or workers for a short period of time. The new legislation introduces planning contro

Andrew Diamond, partner and head of residential property at Lindsays, reveals how ‘subject to purchase’ bids hold potential for unlocking opportunities to bring more homes on to market as well as greater buying power. Contract clauses which make home sales subject to the seller buying th

Money adviser Alan McIntosh, the managing director of Advice Talks Ltd, which operates the www.advicescotland.com website, is calling on money advisers to think differently about the energy debt crisis. As we all sit on a precipice waiting to find out how much the energy price cap will rise by in Oc

It's hardly a surprise that the article in yesterday's Times (also covered in Scottish Legal News) concerning implanting electronic chips into lawyers' brains has been met with incredulity from the readers of that venerable organ. The readers' comments are mostly along the lines of "this must be a s

On 31 July I was among the 17.4 million TV viewers who switched on to watch England beat Germany in the final of the UEFA Women’s European Championship. For England and sport fans alike it was an incredible spectacle – with a record 87,192 fans in Wembley Stadium producing an electric, a

Keith Kilburn and David Arnott outline how international arbitration can be used in the construction industry. International arbitration is a well-recognised dispute resolution process for construction projects throughout the world. It offers numerous benefits to parties, including the ability

Blackstone pointed out that “it is but lost labour to say, ‘do this, or avoid that’, unless we also declare, ‘this shall be the consequence of your noncompliance.’ We must therefore observe, that the main strength and force of a law consists in the penalty annexed to it

Hot on the heels of the Wagatha Christie saga which brought defamation arising from social media into the minds of many, new legislation which reforms the law of defamation in Scotland came into force on 8 August. Baktosch Gillan and Mike Kemp explain the details. Prior to the Defamation and Ma

We find ourselves at a crucial juncture in the development of environmental law. Last month, the Met Office recorded a temperature over 40 degrees for the first time in the UK. The combined pressures of climate change, increasing focus of the Scottish government on environmental issues, and post-pan

Employment Appeal Tribunal find that claimant's beliefs were protected under the Equality Act but that he had not been discriminated against. The claimant in Mackereth v Department for Work and Pensions was a Christian doctor who (1) held a belief that a person cannot change their sex/gender at will