Features

Deborah Clark, ICO upstream regulation manager, provides details of new FOI resources at the Information Commissioner's Office. We’ve been working hard, following the commitments made in our ICO25 plan, to make improvements to our freedom of information (FOI) services. We want to enhance the e

Ken Carruthers considers the proposed changes to the termination of commercial leases in Scotland. The Scottish Law Commission (SLC), the body in Scotland charged with proposing legal reform, has recently published a report making a number of important recommendations concerning the termination of l

Since I previously wrote about the damaging delay to Scottish gender recognition reform caused by Westminster vetoing Holyrood’s Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, there have been two further disquieting developments that I feel compelled to respond to, as a lawyer working to uphold th

The Scottish government's recent changes to the emergency rent freeze legislation have improved the position of private landlords but have also caused an imbalance in the rental market and raised questions about the government's long-term vision for the sector, writes Marcus Di Rollo. Private landlo

Richard McMeeken considers the scope of director's discretion and how this has been dealt with by the courts. The duties incumbent on company directors are much talked about at the moment following the Supreme Court's judgment in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA and others [2022] UKSC 25 clarifying the exi

Death and taxes are inevitable, and following the former kindly obituaries may and often do follow but a recitation of platitudes was not always certain in earlier times, writes Robert Shiels. The death of Sir Archibald Alison in 1867 produced an obituary that must, surely, be seen as being not

To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Tom O’Connor considers the courageous conduct of two German judges who remained true to their principles and stood up to the Nazis. The shameful conduct of German judges under the Hitler regime was symbolised by the appalling behaviour of the fa

The UK government has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the way holiday entitlements are calculated for part-year workers, addressing employers’ concerns following a recent landmark ruling on the issue by the Supreme Court, writes Helen Cordon. The public consultation focuses

Professional Footballer Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir (SBG) has recently won a case she raised in the FIFA Football Tribunal against her ex-club, Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon), for maternity pay, writes Emma Nicol. SBG was employed by the club Lyon as a footballer in 2021 when she informed them of her p

The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill was introduced into the UK Parliament last week and makes provision for minimum service levels to be stipulated for health services, fire and rescue services, education services, transport services, decommissioning of nuclear installations and management of

Ahead of a major ruling of the Supreme Court next month, Cat MacLean takes a look at the jurisprudence of online fraud. Read part one here. Following the Appeal Court decision in Philipp, Sekers settled in due course for a substantial six-figure sum. Meantime, though, Barclays were given leave to ap

Ahead of a major ruling of the Supreme Court next month, Cat MacLean takes a look at the jurisprudence of online fraud. Part two follows tomorrow. Online fraud has been on the rise for many years. The pace of attacks has quickened with the pandemic and the advent of working from home. In most cases,

Approximately one per cent of the population are either trans women, trans men or non-binary. Trans people don’t identify as the gender they were assigned at birth. Being transgender is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act (“gender reassignment”) – it is unlawful

What is our legal heritage? The question arises from the legal career of one Scot who left Scotland and then succeeded in another legal jurisdiction, writes Dr Robert Shiels. Perhaps another way of considering the question suggested is to ask: whose legal heritage is it anyway? The free movement of

Politically and economically, 2022 was a tumultuous year. Despite an encouraging start, by the third quarter it was clear that Scotland’s property sector was being impacted by spiralling inflation, soaring energy costs and increasing interest rates, writes Barry McKeown. Yet, let me recall som