News

The Prison Service in England and Wales is considering plans to house transgender prisoners in separate prison wings, The Sunday Times reports. Justice minister Ed Argar confirmed that new guidelines would be issued after a trans woman who had not undergone gender reassignment surgery was convicted

An elderly crime wave appears to be sweeping Japan as pensioners seek jail time in a bid to save money. Over-65s now make up one in five convictions in the East Asian country, up from one in 20 just over two decades ago.

A man found guilty of repeatedly exposing himself and masturbating in view of his next door neighbour, who had partially succeeded in an appeal due to a lack of corroboration, has had his original conviction restored after the Crown appealed against appeal court’s decision.  Ricky Taylor&

Gillespie Macandrew has expanded in Glasgow with the opening of new premises in the city centre. The new office, at 163 West George Street, more than doubles its footprint in the city and will be headed up by commercial property partner Greg Peebles and construction and dispute resolution partner Is

Blackadders is set to merge with Aberdeen-based solicitors Plenderleath Runcie. Partners at Plenderleath Runcie – John Plenderleath, Colin Runcie and Neil Robb – will become partners at Blackadders under the merger, which is set to be complete in April and will see both compani

Garry Sturrock looks at the effects Scotland's new domestic abuse legislation will have on the law. In a landmark vote in the Scottish Parliament in February 2018, the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill (which promised to offer a tougher approach to the prosecution of domestic abuse in Scotland) was pas

Enhanced information in relation to upcoming appeal cases in the Court of Session is now available on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals website. New case details include summaries of forthcoming appeals and links to first instance decisions, where they are available.

The last power devolved to Holyrood by legislation enacted following the 2014 independence referendum has been transferred. The Scotland Act 2016 devolves powers in various areas and was introduced following the cross-party Smith Commission agreement.

Shepherd and Wedderburn partner Yvonne Brady, specialist insolvency advisor in the firm's corporate & restructuring recovery team, has been elected to the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) Scotland Council. Ms Brady begins a three-year term, during which she will draw on her experience sup

International legal business DWF, with offices in Belfast and Dublin, has confirmed plans to go ahead with an initial public offering in March 2019. The firm first announced plans to list on the London Stock Exchange last month, and submitted necessary documents for approval to the UK's Financial Co

He has moved on 100 years, but murder and an insight by Donald Findlay QC, into one of Scotland’s most notorious cases will again raise funds for charity. Last year, Mr Findlay asked, “Madeleine Smith – did she or did she not?” and his one-man show about the 1857 trial made &

A former senior executive at oilfield giant Petrofac has pleaded guilty to bribery in relation to corrupt offers to influence the award of contracts to the company worth in excess of $730 million in Iraq and in excess of $3.5 billion in Saudi Arabia. David Lufkin, 51, previously global head of

Police arrested three men in connection with a burglary after noticing their shoes were covered in fur similar to that on the burgled party's shedding cat. The resident arrived home to find signs of a break-in and three people running away.

A Holyrood committee has found "serious deficiencies" in the way consultation was carried out around planned changes to the 2021 census. In a report published today, it recommended wider consultation and proposed amendments to avoid the perception that sex is being conflated with gender identity.

From November 2018 to January 2019, the average selling price in east central Scotland rose to £239,709, a 3.6 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, ESPC reports. This is a less pronounced increase than in previous months – in ESPC’s December and November House P