News

The Aberdeen Law Project has announced the promotion of Martyna Proczek to the position of student director.  Ms Proczek, 20, a third-year law student, is succeeding Lauren Frame as the project’s ninth student director.

Barristers accused of professional misconduct in England and Wales will now have claims against them assessed on a balance of probabilities, the civil standard of proof, as opposed to the criminal standard of beyond all reasonable doubt. Rules came into force yesterday that could see more barri

Bookings are being taken for the Faculty of Advocates’ 12th World Intellectual Property Day Conference, which is expected once again to attract a full house. The conference is on Friday, April 26 – World IP Day – from 11:30am to 2pm in the Mackenzie Building, off High Street, Edinb

Hearings into alleged judicial misconduct will be heard in public under Irish government proposals to be considered in the Oireachtas, the country's legislature. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has submitted amendments to the Judicial Council Bill 2017 to provide for misconduct hearings to be held

Tens of thousands of convictions for cannabis possession could be dismissed or reduced automatically under a pioneering scheme launched by prosecutors in California. District Attorneys Jackie Lacey of Los Angeles County and Tori Verber Salazar of San Joaquin County have jointly announced their parti

A police officer made an arrest while stark naked after recognising an on-the-run criminal in a sauna. The criminal, who had fled after being convicted of drug offences and attempted assault on an official, is now safely in police custody.

No bottle of wine for guessing that one as Queen were in the Oscars. So, there I was on Saturday. Son's dog walked. Grass cut. Opinion drafted. Prep done for next week's trip up north. Only problem was worrying about the St Mirren score. So, I thought I'd go and clear an expected half dozen or so e-

The voices of victims and their families should be heard at prisoners’ parole hearings, but only to a limited extent, the Faculty of Advocates has suggested. A “victim personal statement” could be part of a dossier for consideration by the Parole Board for Scotland, although the ro

The Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) has launched a consultation on the question of whether the civil standard of proof should apply in professional misconduct cases. There is no statutory requirement for a particular standard, but the SSDT has always employed the criminal standa

BTO Solicitors LLP has appointed David Gibson as its new chairman, succeeding Alan Borthwick. As part of BTO’s new management structure, the firm has also announced its first chief operating officer. Mr Gibson said: "It is a great privilege to be appointed chairman of BTO. I would like to than

New legislation that criminalises psychological domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour has come into force today. An awareness campaign to increase the public’s understanding of the legal nature of domestic abuse and to encourage victims of abuse to seek help has also been launc

Morton Fraser has made three appointments to its construction team through the recruitment of a team of contentious and non-contentious construction specialists. Sandra Cassels will be joining the firm as a partner whilst Julie Scott-Gilroy and Caroline Earnshaw will join as associates.

Caroline Gillespie reflects on the development of the law on domestic abuse as new legislation comes into force today. Today, the law on domestic abuse changes in Scotland. The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 is now in force, creating a new crime of engaging in a course of abusive behaviour

An increase in Sheriff Court fees comes into effect today. The increase comes in the wake of a 2.3 per cent increase a year ago, and will be followed by a further two per cent increase next year.

Police could be given new powers of entry and search to apprehend a person unlawfully at large from home detention curfew (HDC) or temporary release as part of proposals to strengthen electronic monitoring. Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf is putting forward amendments to the Management of Offenders B