News

A county court in Alabama has recognised foetuses as having legal rights, in what is reportedly the first case of its kind in the US. A decision of the Madison County Probate Court recognised that an aborted foetus had personhood, allowing its father to sue the abortion clinic and others involved in

A judge who told jurors to acquit a human trafficking suspect because God had told him she was innocent has been disciplined. Judge Jack Robison, a district court judge in Texas, made the remarks during the trial of a woman charged with continuous sex trafficking and the sale or purchase of a child,

The High Court of Justiciary has published its reasons for rejecting an application for permission to appeal by a man found guilty of posting a “grossly offensive” video online showing a “Nazi dog”. Mark Meechan, who was fined £800 for breaching the Commu

The legal smoking age would rise from 18 to 21 under new proposals being considered by the Scottish government, The Herald reports. The government will host a conference this year to discuss the increase as part of its aim to create a ‘tobacco-free generation’ by 2034.

Livingstone Brown Solicitors in Glasgow has appointed advocate Ximena Vengoechea to the role of consultant in its financial crime team. Ms Vengoechea brings a wealth of international experience in crime, human rights and immigration work to the firm.

A Holyrood committee is seeking views on the operation of Scotland's freedom of information legislation. The Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee (PAPLS) is undertaking post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 .

Rape prosecutions have declined to their lowest rate in more than five years, The Guardian reports. Figures reveal that a third of the 2,310 rape cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) between April and September of last year saw charges brought.

A House of Lords committee has drawn special attention to the UK-Ireland Convention on Social Security. The convention seeks to roll over certain social security rights enjoyed by UK and Irish citizens, currently protected by EU law, including rights of free movement.

Greenock solicitors are to have their first female dean of the town’s faculty of procurators. Jill Carrick was appointed dean of the Faculty of Procurators in Greenock, the first woman to take up the post in the organisation’s 200-year history, at the faculty’s annual general meeti

Women’s rights are increasingly more likely to be incorporated into peace processes, research carried out at Edinburgh University shows. Researchers from the Political Settlement Research Project (PSRP) developed an online tool that charts the progress of peace agreements since the end of the

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has been selected as one of five case studies of good practice published last week by the Ethical Standards Commissioner. The SLCC was recognised for using facilitated diversity enhancing workshops and tools to improve decision making as well as for co

Young dancers in Edinburgh who have been selected to represent Scotland at an international competition are seeking sponsorship to help them cover the costs of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Local authorities would be banned from banning plastic straws for the next five years under a bill proposed by a Florida senator. The law would see the US state slap local authorities with a $25,000 fine if they try to regulate single-use plastics before the completion of a study into the environmen

A judge has dismissed an application by the father of the late James Bulger to amend a lifelong anonymity order protecting the identity of one of his son’s killers. Ralph Bulger wanted information about Jon Venables’ (JV) new identity to be made public after the murderer was jailed

The laws on cohabitation in Scotland are problematic and disadvantageous to vulnerable and grieving people, according to a report by the Law Society of Scotland. Published today, Rights of cohabitants calls for a full review of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006.