News

A former Lord President has called for a major inquiry into the land tenure system to remedy failings in land reform legislation, The Courier reports. Lord Gill said that part 10 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016, which deals with farm tenancies, was worsening the decline in the tenanted sector

Plans to bolster the law in relation to keeping siblings together when they are placed in local authority care, where it is in their interests to do so, have been announced. The changes will impose a duty on local authorities to take steps to promote personal relations and contact between brothers a

Peter Ward looks at what's in store for the renewables sector after Brexit. Much has been written about the potential impact of Brexit on the UK’s renewable energy sector. Common themes that have emerged are loss of investor confidence, concerns over energy security and delays in much nee

Practical politics is giving way to legal theory “and not the other way around” in the ongoing Brexit saga, a Scots lawyer has told an audience in New York. Addressing an event hosted by the Scottish Bar Association of New York (ScotBarNY) at Nixon Peabody LLP last month, Burness Pa

A German court is set to decide whether the country's government is breaking the law by allowing the US to use Ramstein military base for its covert drone programme, which the UK has played a “crucial and sustained role” in. Faisal Bin Ali Jaber, a Yemeni engineer, has brought the c

The Commons' Scottish Affairs Committee has recommended that UK trade deals should be contingent on the close involvement of the Scottish government, to ensure that trade agreements work for the whole of the UK. In a new report, it outlines mechanisms for involving the devolved administrations in tr

Airport customs officials have foiled an attempt to smuggle a looted Babylonian treasure dating from the second millennium BCE. The antiquity, believed to be worth at least hundreds of thousands of pounds, was identified in a customs declaration as a "carved stone for home decoration" worth just "30

A serial offender who was sentenced to an order for lifelong restriction (OLR) following his fourth High Court appearance has had an appeal against a judge’s decision to impose the OLR rejected. John McKinlay, 29, who has convictions for rape and domestic abuse and assaulting fellow prison inm

Scottish solicitors say the Law Society of Scotland should continue to regulate solicitors in Scotland, according to new research. Ninety-three per cent of respondents agree that the Law Society should continue to be responsible for representation, support and regulation of solicitors in Scotland, a

Paul Brown of the Legal Services Agency comments on the operation of the revised criminal injuries regime. The UK government has recently laid before Parliament major amendments to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has started work to replace the roof and upgrade the façade of Peterhead Sheriff and Justice of the Peace Court.

The sentencing of prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and women’s rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh to 33 years in prison and 148 lashes in a new case against her has been described by Amnesty International as an outrageous injustice. The sentence, reported on her husband Reza Khanda

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Carphone Warehouse more than £21.1 million for failings that led to the mis-selling of “Geek Squad”, a mobile phone insurance and technical support product. This follows an FCA investigation which stemmed from whistleblowing repo

Senior Irish lawyers will travel to Washington D.C. this week to launch a Government-backed initiative to promote Ireland as an international legal centre after Brexit. The Law Society of Ireland's director-general Ken Murphy and president Patrick Dorgan are travelling to the US today and will take

Harper Macleod LLP has supported Shetland business Laurence Odie Knitwear Ltd in the company’s recent move to employee ownership.