News

Professor Mark Elliott

Less than a month after a warning by Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, that the English legal system was facing a ‘ticking time bomb’ in its failure to recruit judges, Scottish Legal News can reveal that Scotland too is facing such a crisis with top qu

A “bogus workman” who was sentenced to seven months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to attempting to obtain money by fraud has had his custodial term reduced following an appeal. The Sheriff Appeal Court ruled that the sheriff erred in law by failing to apply any discount.

Peterhead Sheriff Court (Google Street View) Solicitors have hit out at court chiefs' plans to stop using a north east court for jury trials.

Scott Whyte

Will Kerr Modern slavery and human trafficking (MSHT) in the UK is far more prevalent than previously thought, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has produced an information film on its website for potential jurors to view, which shows the different stages of the jury experience.The Jury Information Film is available on the jurors page of the Coming to Court section the SCTS website. Jurors wh

Evelyn Channing Confidence in the Scottish estate market is continuing to build in 2017 following the most active market in a decade last year, according to the latest research from Savills.

Amnesty International has condemned the execution of a man in Iran this week who was arrested and sentenced to death as a child, contrary to international law. Alireza Tajiki, who was 21 years old, was sentenced to death at the age of 16 in April 2013 after a criminal court convicted him of murder a

A series of workshops with representatives from the legal profession and consumer groups will get under way this month to help shape the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service's move to Civil Online through a web-based portal. With the expected commencement of the Simple Procedure (Special Claims) Ru

The Scottish Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) contributed to the stagnation of the Scottish property market in July, according to RICS. The latest RICS residential property survey reported a decline in the number of new instructions last month.

The Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) found former solicitor, David Nightingale, guilty of professional misconduct last month in connection with acts of dishonesty in relation to client funds, in the course of his work at a Coatbridge-based firm. Mr Nightingale has not been on the ro

The Scottish Government is wrong to maintain application fees for bankruptcy, writes Alan McIntosh of Govan Law Centre. The Scottish Government’s decision to reject calls by Govan Law Centre for a fee waiver for consumers wanting to go bankrupt, is not only disappointing, but ultimately likely to

Scotland’s most senior judge will deliver the opening keynote address at the Law Society of Scotland’s Annual Conference. Lord Carloway will address delegates on the future of the Scottish court system at Leading Legal Excellence: For the greater good on Tuesday 19 September in Edinburgh. In “

A plumbing company has won permission to appeal a high-profile employment ruling to the Supreme Court. Pimlico Plumbers is appealing the decision of the Court of Appeal in London that it should have classed Gary Smith as a "worker" rather than self-employed.