News

A private healthcare provider which sued a Scottish health board claiming it was “contractually obliged” to pay for a mental health patient’s continuing care at a hospital in England has had its case dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session upheld an argument by Hi

Governments and organisations which collect people’s data should work together to create good practice standards for managing it, according to the Law Society of Scotland. In its response to a UK Parliament inquiry into whether new safeguards are required to regulate the use of personal data b

The Home Office risks another immigration policy scandal if it does not fix crucial problems with the EU Settlement Scheme, the House of Lords EU Justice Sub-Committee has warned in an urgent letter. The committee has written to Home Secretary Sajid Javid raising concerns about the EU Settlement Sch

Legislation to support the establishment and capitalisation of the Scottish National Investment Bank has been published by the Scottish Parliament. The bill grants the necessary powers to set up the bank which will provide financing for businesses through their whole life cycle and for important inf

A think tank has called for the legislation amending the census regime to include a better question on which languages are spoken in Scotland. Reform Scotland submitted written evidence to the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee’s inquiry into the Census (Amendment) (S

Two key European Parliament committees have selected Romanian judge Laura Codruţa Kövesi as their top choice for the inaugural European chief prosecutor. The new European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) is expected to be operational by the end of 2020 and will be in charge of investigating,

The Scottish Law Commission’s annual report 2018 is published today. In 2018 the SLC published a report, two discussion papers and a joint consultation paper. It also embarked on the Tenth Programme of law reform. The new programme includes a wide range of work: on family law; on the law of ho

Lady Wolffe is to be the guest speaker at the Faculty of Advocates’ International Women’s Day event, when she pays tribute to pioneering women in the law and looks to the future. In the talk, International Women’s Day: Celebration and Challenges, Lady Wolffe will reflect on her own

Two English police officers who allegedly used police helicopters to film women having outdoor sex and sunbathing nude have appeared before a misconduct hearing. Serving officer Matthew Lucas, 43, and former officer Lee Walls, 48, both of South Yorkshire Police (SYP), are alleged to have breached th

A bill to allow drivers to run red lights during low traffic has been approved by US legislators. The proposed law was approved by 39-34 in the Utah House of Representatives.

The Criminal Appeal Court has reiterated its warning to defence lawyers over the “derogatory and insulting” questioning of rape complainers and criticised a judge for “wholly inappropriate” comments made about the evidence of a witness during the course of a trial.

The widow of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has been granted a declaration that the state has failed to deliver an Article 2 compliant investigation into the death of her husband, who was shot and killed by loyalist paramilitaries in collusion with the UK security forces. In a unanimous jud

A review of legal aid funding for families involved in fatal accident inquiries has been announced. Community Safety Minister Ash Denham told MSPs that a full consultation would be undertaken before this year's summer recess with a view to introducing a new legal aid bill.

Two-thirds (67 per cent) of the 6,736 hate crimes recorded in 2017-18 included a race aggravator, crime statistics published today show. Developing Information on Hate Crime Recorded by the Police in Scotland also shows that 16 per cent of hate crimes included a sexual orientation aggravat

The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has launched a landmark legal challenge before the High Court in London in a bid to extend collective bargaining rights for outsourced workers. The union is alleging that outsourced workers at the University of London are being denied their righ