News

The potential impact of sentencing guidelines being introduced which have not been properly considered and tested would be considerable, according to the Scottish Sentencing Council. The council was responding to a motion for debate in the Scottish Parliament tomorrow, concerning sentencing pol

The UK has been ordered to give the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius "as rapidly as possible" after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled British occupation of the archipelago was illegal, The Guardian reports. The British retained possession of the islands after Mauritius gained independen

Scottish courts would impose tougher sentences on criminals who target the elderly under proposed laws. Adults with dementia or chronic illnesses will be given new protections to prevent their mistreatment.

The public must be engaged if Scotland moves to an opt-out organ donation system, the Law Society of Scotland has said. The society, commenting ahead of the Scottish Parliament debate on proposals to move to an “opt-out” system for organ donation, has called for greater public aware

Extra time has been granted to John Scott QC to complete his review on the impact of policing on affected communities in Scotland during the miners’ strike in 1984/5. Mr Scott sought an extension on the original target date of June 2019 to August, "to do justice to the considerable evidence wh

New law firm Ralph Hendrie Legal officially launched on Friday 1st February, with Mark Hendrie at the helm as managing director. Mr Hendrie, formerly managing director of Clancy Hendrie Legal and previously partner at Boyd Legal, has a wealth of property experience.

Boyd Legal Solicitors has opened a new office in Fife.

Solicitor Andrew Mackenzie has spoken on access to justice for people with disabilities at the UN HQ in Vienna.

Crown Court prosecutors' fees are worse than the wages at McDonald's, a senior barrister has said. Barristers who take instructions from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are to attend a rally next week to consider action that would bring trials to a standstill, The Times reports.

A California man wrongfully convicted of murder has been awarded $21 million as compensation for being imprisoned for 38 years, in what is believed to be the longest jail term overturned in the state's history. Craig Coley, 71, a Vietnam war veteran was jailed in 1978 for the killing of his ex-partn

A Kim Jong-un lookalike has been deported from Vietnam ahead of a visit this week from North Korea's leader, who is meeting with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi. Howard X, a Hong Kong resident, staged his own summit with Trump impersonator Russell White last week.

A widow whose husband died after being choked by a pub bouncer is entitled to an insurance payout after appeal judges dismissed an appeal by insurers of the door steward’s former employers. The Inner House of the Court of Session upheld a decision of the Lord Ordinary that an insuran

Shepherd and Wedderburn’s corporate finance team has reported a bumper year for deals activity, with the value of transactions more than doubling to £8.65 billion. The team advised on 114 deals globally in the year to December 2018, up from 98 deals in 2017, boosted by a number of notabl

Dr Nick McKerrell questions whether it was in the public interest to reveal the name of a child convicted of rape and murder.  Open Justice seems to be a fundamental principle of our legal system. Walk into any court around the country and you can take a seat in the public gallery to witness al

The Scottish housing market saw sales breach the £18 billion barrier in 2018, according to a report from Aberdein Considine. Across Scotland as a whole, average prices, sale volumes and total market values all rose in the last three months of 2018. Overall, the value of property exchanging han