News

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf appears to have ruled out a new approach to child witnesses that would prevent them from having to give evidence more than once, The Herald reports. The Scottish government is considering an approach inspired by the "Barnahus" (Children's House) model in Norway, where

A solicitor representing the family of one of the 2014 Glasgow bin lorry crash victims has called on the UK government to change the law to prevent further tragedies. Ronnie Conway, Scottish co-ordinator for the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), warned that there is "no system in place

The Scottish government has said it is still considering a public inquiry into the death of Kirkcaldy man Sheku Bayoh in police custody in 2015 following a new BBC documentary about the case. BBC Scotland broadcast CCTV footage of Mr Bayoh's arrest for the first time last night in the Disclosure: De

Rachael Kelsey, a director at SKO Family Law Specialists, will be writing regular updates for Scottish Legal News in coming weeks, dealing with the specifics of the Brexit implications for family law. Here, Rachael gives a general overview of where we are with the three most likely political outcome

The Scottish government has relegated the full integration of British Transport Police (BTP) into Police Scotland to a "long-term" goal, preferring "a stronger oversight role" for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) in the interim. Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said in a letter to MSPs that his off

The House of Lords is set to overhaul its disciplinary processes next year to better support complainants in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC, The Times reports. The 82-year-old peer and former barrister resigned from the Lords last week ahead of a vote

Poland has reinstated the 27 Supreme Court judges who were forced to retire under controversial judicial reforms opposed by the European Commission. Legislation reversing the change in the judicial retirement age was signed into law by President Andrzej Duda yesterday after the European Court of Jus

Sheriff Ross Macfarlane QC, artistic director of the Faculty of Advocates choir, writes on the humble beginnings of its annual Christmas carol charity fundraiser. It all started so innocently… November 1996: I was a fairly new advocate and having a cup of tea in the advocates’ reading r

The number of tenancy deposit cases now being heard by the Scottish First-tier Tribunal indicate a similar specialist court in England would have to deal with up to 1,200 deposit protection cases each year, according to the chair of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). Last month the UK Government laun

Furious parents branded a Christmas grotto Santa Claus a "disgrace" after he ripped off his beard and swore at children. According to reports, the angry St Nick lost his temper after the fire alarm was triggered by a children's rave in the same building.

A man found guilty of attacking another man with a meat cleaver, who claimed that a sheriff was wrong to allow CCTV footage to be introduced as evidence after its existence only became apparent during the trial, has had an appeal against his conviction refused. Jamie Hyslop argued that the material

Anderson Strathern has announced a six per cent increase in turnover to £22.8 million and a 10 per cent rise in profits in the year ending 31 August 2018. The firm said client wins, panel appointments and increased activity across the private client, commercial and public sector practice group

The Scottish government has launched a consultation on allowing certain prisoners to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections. The move comes after Holyrood's equalities and human rights committee advocated an end to the UK's blanket ban on prisoner voting.

The UK government has announced a new package of workplace reforms it calls the "largest upgrade in workers' rights in over a generation". The announcement takes forward 51 of the 53 recommendations made last summer by the Taylor Review, led by Matthew Taylor, CEO of the Royal Society of Arts and fo

David Buchanan-Cook, head of strategic insight at the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC), writes on stress for lawyers at Christmas-time. Christmas is often an unintended bearer of stress. It’s that time of year when otherwise innocuous factors can collide and accumulate to create a s