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Two teenagers who were given custodial sentences after one pled guilty to behaving in a threatening and abusive manner and the other admitted a charge of assault have had their appeals against the sentences imposed rejected. The appellants claimed that the sheriff failed to properly take into accoun

The Scottish government has been accused of “selling the silverware” of Scotland’s courts for a fraction of their value. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) began closing one in five sheriff and justice of the peace courts in 2013, despite warnings of an increased work

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has announced plans to publish a new statistical bulletin providing quarterly data on criminal case activity in the Scottish courts for the first time. The first Quarterly Criminal Court Statistics bulletin, covering the first quarter of 2018, is now

Support has been voiced by the Faculty of Advocates for ending the tacit relocation of commercial leases. The doctrine of tacit relocation is one of the issues raised by the Scottish Law Commission in a discussion paper, Aspects of Leases: Termination.

The number of Employment Tribunal claims in Scotland has increased fivefold in the past six months following the scrapping of fees for bringing cases. More than 8,500 additional cases were lodged in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, leading to claims the system is be

The dangers of expert evidence in a medical negligence case being based on only one witness's account where that account is disputed by another witness has been highlighted in the recent decision in Taylor v Dailly Health Centres, writes Robbie Wilson. The decision from the Outer House of the Court

The Scottish Law Commission has held an all-day seminar on homicide law reform in Glasgow in conjunction with the law schools at the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow.

A cross-party group of MPs and Lords has launched a draft Act of Union Bill to "rebalance and stabilise the constitutional relationships between the four nations of the United Kingdom". The Constitution Reform Group (CRG) includes Robert Salisbury, former Leader of the House of Lords; Gisela Stuart,

This week, the ICO fined Heathrow Airport Limited £120,000 for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998. Whilst this decision is under the “old” data protection rules, it provides some helpful guidance from the ICO on what organisations should be doing to avoid such action

Blackadders has signed the UK Armed Forces Covenant, a commitment to support servicemen and women. Chairman Scott Williamson signed the document at the firm’s Dundee offices. It was co-signed on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by squadron leader Jason Aslett, executive officer of 612 S

Global attention has recently focused on the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court, but Graham Ogilvy reports that the appointment of Scottish lawyer James Wilson as one of the first six SCOTUS justices was also controversial — when Wilson was twice incarcerated in a debtor&rs

Divorce judges will assign custody over pets on a similar basis to custody over children under new legislation in California. Judges are now legally required to consider an animal's best interests in divorce proceedings and can order shared ownership of a pet.

A former St Andrews university student who claimed she was raped by a man during a drunken night out has successfully sued him for £80,000 in damages after raising a civil action. Stephen Coxen, 23, was acquitted after a High Court trial when a jury found the charge “not proven”, b

Ministers will consult on how the criminal law might be strengthened as part of efforts to tackle misogynistic behaviour, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has announced. Mr Yousaf said a forthcoming consultation focusing on updating and consolidating Scotland's hate crime laws will include considerati

Aberdein Considine has made appointments to both its private client and banking litigation teams. James MacKinnon has joined the firm as partner and head of private client in Edinburgh. He was previously legal director at Gillespie Macandrew.