News

There was a 10 per cent increase in the number of civil cases begun across the Court of Session and sheriff courts in 2017-18, new figures show. The latest civil justice statistics, published by Scotland’s chief statistician today, show that 81,200 civil law cases were initiated across the Cou

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have called for action to improve mental health in prisons, following the publication of the Deaths in Custody report by Aamer Anwar and the family of Katie Allan, a young woman who tragically committed suicide in prison. The report highlights, among other things, that

The Law Society of Scotland has called for wider reform of charity legislation in its response to a Scottish government consultation on charity law. The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 governs the operation of over 24,000 charities across Scotland (with over 180,000 charity trus

Scottish Greens justice spokesperson John Finnie MSP will today propose an amendment to the Management of Offenders Bill to remove any role for the private sector in the existing or proposed expanded monitoring regime. The Justice Committee will begin its stage 2 consideration of the bill, which &ld

Perthshire law firm Macnabs has announced the promotion of two members of staff as it opens a new office in Blairgowrie. Alan Roughead, who joined the firm from MacRoberts in October 2017, has been promoted to director and will head up the private client department.

Revised UK immigration rules go "against the grain" of the Good Friday Agreement because they remove the right of Irish citizens in Northern Ireland to be treated as EU nationals, human rights chiefs have warned. Les Allamby, chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC)

Thea Jackson has joined Urquharts in Edinburgh as an associate after working for over 12 years at Turcan Connell’s Edinburgh office, latterly as an associate. She trained and practised in Glasgow, qualifying as a solicitor in 2006.

The Aberdeen Law Project has announced the promotion of Martyna Proczek to the position of student director.  Ms Proczek, 20, a third-year law student, is succeeding Lauren Frame as the project’s ninth student director.

Barristers accused of professional misconduct in England and Wales will now have claims against them assessed on a balance of probabilities, the civil standard of proof, as opposed to the criminal standard of beyond all reasonable doubt. Rules came into force yesterday that could see more barri

Bookings are being taken for the Faculty of Advocates’ 12th World Intellectual Property Day Conference, which is expected once again to attract a full house. The conference is on Friday, April 26 – World IP Day – from 11:30am to 2pm in the Mackenzie Building, off High Street, Edinb

Hearings into alleged judicial misconduct will be heard in public under Irish government proposals to be considered in the Oireachtas, the country's legislature. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has submitted amendments to the Judicial Council Bill 2017 to provide for misconduct hearings to be held

Tens of thousands of convictions for cannabis possession could be dismissed or reduced automatically under a pioneering scheme launched by prosecutors in California. District Attorneys Jackie Lacey of Los Angeles County and Tori Verber Salazar of San Joaquin County have jointly announced their parti

A police officer made an arrest while stark naked after recognising an on-the-run criminal in a sauna. The criminal, who had fled after being convicted of drug offences and attempted assault on an official, is now safely in police custody.

No bottle of wine for guessing that one as Queen were in the Oscars. So, there I was on Saturday. Son's dog walked. Grass cut. Opinion drafted. Prep done for next week's trip up north. Only problem was worrying about the St Mirren score. So, I thought I'd go and clear an expected half dozen or so e-

The voices of victims and their families should be heard at prisoners’ parole hearings, but only to a limited extent, the Faculty of Advocates has suggested. A “victim personal statement” could be part of a dossier for consideration by the Parole Board for Scotland, although the ro