Opinion

Iain Drummond considers a recent case that provides lessons for the construction sector concerning the enforcement of adjudicators’ decisions by companies in liquidation. The recent case of John Doyle Construction (JDC) v Erith Contractors Limited provides two lessons for the construction sect

As businesses return from festive slumber, it’s an opportune time to consider how they can meet expectations on diversity and inclusion (D&I) matters in 2022. Some clients have expressed frustration at the lack of progress in terms of reaching their D&I objectives despite the substanti

Particular complications can arise in claims involving multiple parties, not least when some of those involved wish to reach a settlement but others do not. Three recently issued judgments have highlighted some of the pitfalls to be avoided. In Loretto Housing Association Ltd v Cruden Buildings and

If nothing else is proved, Giuffre v Prince Andrew, Duke of York will at least have shown the public’s fascination with the private lives of royalty, writes Andrew Stevenson. This is not new. It is 200 years since the death of Queen Caroline. Born in the German principality of Brunswick, Carol

What is admissible in evidence in our ongoing trial of the past? The Arab slave trade? Modern slavery across Asia? Or are rules and consistency passé? Does Lady Justice need scales or will the sword suffice? Edinburgh Council, for example, remains coy about its plaque in Abercromby Place that

An interesting little conundrum for those with too much time on their hands. The flash floods in Edinburgh’s fashionable Stockbridge area earlier this year did significant damage to property, but thankfully, in contrast to similar events in Germany, no lives were lost. For this we may be grate

In the final part of his medico-legal series, David J Black explores how Covid-19 has thrown into relief the maltreatment of ME/CFS victims. The boon to life sciences afforded by the pandemic and the huge sums invested in researching Long Covid have left the psychogenic hypothesis a sinking shi

In part three of his series on the ME/CFS saga, David J Black examines the durability of medical dogma in the face of facts and the risk of a new psychogenic orthodoxy prevailing with a generation of Long Covid sufferers, whose malady bears a striking resemblance to ME/CFS. See also: parts one and t

David J Black looks at the shameful treatment of ME/CFS sufferers in the second part of his medico-legal series. Read part one here. Before entering the realms of Fraser v NICE one or two other factors have to be considered. The first was the role of the generality of a UK media which was almost ent

David J Black explores the dangers of orthodoxy in the first in a four-part medico-legal series. "Orthodoxy" wrote Bertrand Russell "is the death of intelligence". Before placing this in a medico-legal context with specific reference to the 2009 case Fraser and another v The National Institute of Cl

A terrible fate potentially awaits any Scottish folk troubadour lacking knowledge of US copyright law should he or she be tempted to record or sing in public a Scottish variant of Woody Guthrie’s great American anthem This Land is your Land, This Land is my Land, for they could find themselves

Andrew Stevenson reflects on a literary-cum-legal encounter between two of Scotland's greatest writers.  Two hundred years ago two of Scotland’s most eminent men of literature met in court. One of them, James Hogg, the self-styled Ettrick Shepherd, is best known for his novel The Private

In part two of his reflection on the life of Henry Dundas, Chris Holme retells the episode that would be his undoing, see part one here. It was a banking scandal on an epic scale involving flagrant misuse of public funds and fearless investigators.

To mark Black History Month, SLN is dedicating its ‘Our Legal Heritage’ slot to Scotland’s black history.   For centuries the identity of a young black woman present in a portrait of Lady Elizabeth Murray that adorns the Ambassador’s room of Scone Palace was a myste