News

An Australian firm taken to court by St Andrews University over gowns it offers at a discount is trying to have the case heard south of the border, The Times reports. Churchill Gowns sells a red “University of St Andrews” ceremonial gown from as little as £89. The official ones are

A retired advocate is suing the Scottish government over claims that ministers discriminated against him because he worked part-time, The Herald reports. Colin McEachran QC, 79, has taken the government to the Employment Tribunal because he himself received no pension for his work in heading up the

Press freedom around the world is under increasing threats. Journalists are being killed, imprisoned, demonised and censored at alarming rates. In 2018, according to Reporters Without Borders, 66 journalists had been killed worldwide, while in 2019, 174 journalists, 150 citizen journalists and 17 m

Two 14-year-old boys have become the youngest convicted murderers in the history of the Republic of Ireland after being found guilty of the murder of 14-year-old Ana Kriégel. The two boys were aged 13 at the time of the murder and are known only as Boy A and Boy B due to their age,

Protestors in Hong Kong are preparing for fresh rallies on Friday as they demand city authorities satisfy their demands on the revocation of the Extradition Bill, The Guardian reports. Anonymous calls have been made on social media for people to gather outside the government headquarters in the Admi

Offshore private registers detailing who owns which companies in the Channel Islands are to be made public. The move follows sustained pressure on the islands to do their part of tackle tax avoidance.

Victims of discrimination in England and Wales are being denied their fundamental right to justice and perpetrators are going unchallenged because of failures in the legal aid system, the human rights watchdog has warned. An inquiry into legal aid for victims of discrimination by the Equality and Hu

Appeal judges have criticised a sheriff’s decision to allow the removal of a screen behind which a domestic abuse victim had given evidence against her former partner in order for a dock identification to take place. Vulnerable witnesses are entitled to give their evidence from behind a screen

The Scottish Law Commission has today published a discussion paper seeking views on proposals for the reform of securities granted over land and buildings in Scotland. Standard securities are big business: 127,306 transactions were registered in Scotland in 2017/2018.

The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is to undertake research into the Scottish legal services market to support the Scottish government’s response to the Roberton Review. Led by Esther Roberton, that review made a number of recommendations, including that there should be a single ind

A lawyer has lost a court case against his ex-wife who failed to hand over almost £1 million in their divorce settlement, The Times reports. Alexander Hutcheon, 63, and his former wife, Nicola, 49, divorced in February 2017 and Ms Hutcheon was ordered to pay her husband £900,000.

Fatal accident inquiry delays are causing severe distress to families who have lost loved ones, one sheriff has said. Sheriff Christine McCrossan spoke out after an inquiry found that a suicidal prisoner could have been saved if staff had followed proper procedures when he was admitted to prison, Th

Wealth management company Thorntons Investments has strengthened its Edinburgh team with the appointment of Gail Craig as portfolio manager. Ms Craig has over 25 years' investment management experience and takes up the position from Brown Shipley where she managed discretionary and advisory portfoli

The Supreme Court will sit in Wales for the first time when it arrives in Cardiff next month to hear three cases. The court hears appeals on arguable points of law of general public importance, concentrating on cases of the greatest significance.

A member of the Faculty of Advocates is going to the dogs, as part of National Licensing Week. Terra Firma advocate Scott Blair has taken to the world of blogging as his contribution to the annual event by the Institute of Licensing.