News

The last in a set of six EU directives providing guarantees during criminal proceedings across all member states has come into force. The directive on special safeguards for children started to apply yesterday, just over a month after the directive guaranteeing access to legal aid started to apply.

Amazon is facing two lawsuits in the US over its storage of children's voices through its Alexa product, The Register reports. The lawsuits have been lodged in courts in California and Washington by guardians of the unnamed children, aged eight and 10.

Paramedics will be armed and told to use necessary force when responding to certain high-risk situations under a new law. The medical professionals will have to complete annual firearm safety and "tactical" training under the measure, set to take effect in the US state of Florida from July.

A mental health nurse who was struck-off has had an application to appeal against the decision rejected because it was lodged six days after the expiry of the statutory time limit. The Inner House of the Court of Session refused to allow the case to proceed despite the “relatively sh

News publishers who appealed over articles defamatory of a man in respect of his behaviour towards his former wife have had their appeal dismissed by justices in the Supreme Court on the basis the “serious harm” test was satisfied. The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the appeal,

MI5 has been unlawfully retaining innocent people’s data for years, the High Court of England and Wales has been told. At a judicial review of the intelligence service's activities, lawyers for human rights group Liberty said that MI5 had acknowledged internally that data was being mishandled.

Lord Boyd of Duncansby has been appointed as Vice President of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. The tribunal, which has UK-wide jurisdiction, provides a right of redress for anyone who believes that they have been a victim of unlawful action by a public authority using covert investigative techniq

Donald Reid, a partner in and chairman of Glasgow law firm Mitchells Roberton, has been elected Dean of the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow. The Faculty, which has existed since before 1668, represents most legal practitioners in Greater Glasgow. Mitchells Roberton is equally venerable, trac

I seldom go to the High court these days. High court generally means legal aid, and a recent time and study analysis showed fees earned on such work did not meet office overheads far less make a profit. Thus, the reduced number of High court cases I take on each year are regarded as pro bono because

Harper Macleod LLP has announced its expansion into Moray after acquiring the business of one of the area's oldest legal practices, Wink & Mackenzie. Partners Ian Davidson and Lauren Wright will be joined by W&M's 15-strong staff in becoming part of Harper Macleod from 2 September, adding to

Legislation to introduce an opt-out system of organ and tissue donation for deceased donors has been passed by the Scottish Parliament. The bill was introduced in June 2018 to add to existing measures aimed at increasing the number of successful donations in Scotland. International evidence suggests

Legislation to support people who struggle to pay their fuel bills, targeting those who need help the most, has been passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament. The Fuel Poverty Bill enshrines in law the Scottish government’s commitment to tackle the root causes of fuel poverty.

Members of the public are being invited to give their views on a new sentencing guideline setting out the steps taken by courts in making sentencing decisions, and the factors which may be taken into account. The Scottish Sentencing Council has today launched a 12-week public consultation seeking vi

Between March and May 2019, the volume of property sales in east central Scotland increased by 14.3 per cent compared to last year. Within Edinburgh, the sales volume increased by 18.9 per cent year-on-year. This is a result of more properties coming to market in recent months which has helped to me

A new book on crofting law was launched this week at a reception held in the main law library of the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow. A Practical Guide to Crofting Law has been written by crofting law expert Brian Inkster.