News

Sheriff Wendy Sheehan has stepped down as president of the Sheriffs and Summary Sheriffs Association (SSSA) following an unprecedented two terms in the role. Sheriff Sheehan, who was the first female president of the association, stepped down at its AGM in Edinburgh on 15 March. She will be succeede

Greenpeace has been ordered to pay $660 million in damages to an oil and gas company following US legal proceedings that the environmental group has described as a "meritless SLAPP". Texas-based company Energy Transfer accused Greenpeace of defamation and orchestrating criminal behaviour in relation

A French denier of the Holocaust who had been on the run for two years in Scotland has been jailed. Vincent Reynouard, 56, was arrested in Anstruther, in Fife in November 2022 before being extradited to France, where he has now been convicted.

A judge has drawn criticism from his colleagues after filming a video of him loading several guns in his judicial chambers which he then attached to a dissenting judgment. The nearly 20-minute long video was posted to YouTube by the American judge as he dissented from a ruling upholding a California

Protestors charged with non-violent offences should be able to explain their motives in court as part of their legal defence, new research argues. A new study from the University of Birmingham, Aston University and Keele University has argued that trials should "respect the integrity of publicly acc

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. World leaders express outrage at Israel’s renewed bombing of Gaza civilians

The Scottish Sentencing Council has published a new literature review examining the sentencing of firearms offences in Scotland. The review commissioned by the council was conducted by expert academics from the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, alongside researchers from the Sentencing Academy.

The Faculty of Advocates has joined international condemnation of the Trump administration's attacks on lawyers in the US and internationally. A joint statement issued this week says US sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) personnel and their families "constitute a violation of internatio

Public bodies should collect distinct data on both sex and gender identity to ensure accuracy and clarity of nationally held data, according to a UK government-commissioned report led by a UCL academic. In February 2024, Professor Alice Sullivan (UCL Social Research Institute) was asked by the Depar

An innovative blood drive is offering free cannabis in exchange for donations. The latest in a series of "Bleed for Weed" events is taking place this weekend in Rockford, Illinois, where cannabis is legal for both medicinal and recreational use.

Ashurst has announced that Karen Davies has been re-elected as global chair of the firm for a second term, effective 1 August 2025. Paul Jenkins, global CEO commented: “On behalf of the partnership, I am delighted to congratulate Karen on her re-appointment as global chair. Over the past four

A former subpostmaster caught in the Horizon scandal is taking legal action against the Post Office and Fujitsu. Lee Castleton is the first person to sue both organisations following the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has launched the first phase of an interactive map that shows the number of complaints closed in 2022–23 for each local authority area in Scotland across the sectors it oversees, mapped against measures of deprivation. The map highlights the percen

Significant change to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill is needed if the Scottish government’s policy objectives for land reform are to be met, according to Holyrood’s Net Zero, Energy & Transport Committee. Although the majority of committee members support the general principles of t

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, has called for further efforts to implement judgments from the European Court of Human Rights, following the publication of a new report. The annual report for 2024 on the execution of the court’s rulings from the Council of Europe&