Features

Being a public figure is tough. In some ways, few public roles are harder than those of politicians and government officials. The constant judgement, insults and threats alone are enough to put almost anyone off public service, writes Benjamin Bestgen. There is no denying that being a politician or

David J Black traces the origins of a scandal in plain sight and calls for a judge-led inquiry in part three of his series on the continued plight of ME/CFS sufferers. See also parts one and two. It is doubtless commendable to provide an ill or disabled person with fulfilling work, though hopefully

The picture above will be a familiar sight to many of the amateur athletes among us. Runners at the start line, eager to race. Before that crucial first step, though, there is an exercise almost as important as the race itself: hitting "START" on your exercise watch of choice to record the effort.

The recent IPEC judgment of WaterRower is not only a fascinating discussion of what works of craftsmanship can be considered ‘artistic’ enough to gain copyright protection in the UK, it could spark a move away from the more expansive European test for copyright protection, write Andrew M

In part two of his series on dysfunction in our health system, David J Black reminds us that the cost of bad medicine is people's lives. Read part one here. It is one of those facts which cries out to be universally acknowledged: when it came to understanding the nature of such illnesses as ME/CFS,

Franz Kafka died 100 years ago this year. The protagonist of his novel The Trial is an everyman named Josef K, who finds himself facing unspecified issues within a legal process which is remote, incomprehensible and disorientating. It is a chilling story, permeated by a looming, faceless bureaucracy

Professor Russell Sandberg suggests legal sanctions for blasphemy continue to exist in Britain following a ruling against comedian Fern Brady. The criminal offence of blasphemy is dead in England and Wales. It was unceremoniously abolished by section 79(1) of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act

The UK may look to follow the lead of the US in introducing a whistleblowing reward scheme in a bid to combat corporate crime. US Deputy Attorney General, Lisa Monaco, recently announced a new Department of Justice-run corporate whistleblower rewards pilot programme, highlighting the critical role w

The purportedly whole story of the grim events at 10 Rillington Place, London has been offered to the public in different forms over the years but what version is complete, and separately, an accurate one? It is not difficult to see why the appalling events there draw in new commentators with each g

Robert Shiels completes his look at the life of Sir Thomas Thornton LLD. Thornton also interested himself in the field of education, as clerk to the school board gave him an intimate knowledge of the various education acts. He was consulted by Miss Baxter and Dr Boyd Baxter about the establishment o

Ahmed Khogali gives an overview of Daly v HM Advocate. Criminal appeals to the UK Supreme Court are rare due to the High Court of Justiciary’s status as the final court of appeal in Scots criminal law. Under the Scotland Act 1998, such appeals are only permitted to the Supreme Court where devo

Legal academic Dr Dafni Lima responds to a new crackdown on surrogacy by Italy's far-right government. The Italian Senate recently passed a law making surrogacy a “universal crime”. In a country where surrogacy is already illegal, and has been since 2004, this decision takes restric

Robert Shiels looks in two parts at the life of Sir Thomas Thornton, LLD, solicitor, Dundee, to whom the law firm Thorntons traces its roots. There was a time when solicitors were often referred to as writers, procurators, law agents or advocates (as in Aberdeen) and also more simply as men of busin

With Donald Trump taking legal advice on how to retain a US base on the Chagos Islands, Tom Marshall reviews a new book by Philippe Sands KC which reveals Britain’s duplicity in its dealings with the islanders of its last colony. The Chagos Archipelago, a small group of islands in the Indian O

According to The Times of November 1st the total cost of state support for the sick will exceed an unprecedented £100 billion a year by the end of this parliamentary term. This frankly unsustainable health burden is largely the outcome of successive governments placing fiscal imperatives above