News

This Scottish Parliament has agreed the Equal Opportunities Committee remit be expanded to include scrutiny of human rights. The committee will now be known as the Equalities and Human Rights Committee, and its work programme, due to be published at the end of October, will reflect the expanded remi

Churchill and Ireland

Ross Harper remembers Ross Harper, as author of this biography, certainly needs no introduction to Scottish lawyers given the number of legal roles, both in Scotland and at the International Bar Association, which he undertook during his lengthy career. That career included academia and the judiciar

A paedophile convicted of a catalogue of sexual offences against 19 children has failed in an appeal against his “lifelong” sentence. Andrew Byrne, 27, was given an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR) with a punishment part of six years in 2010 after pleading guilty at the High Court in Glasgow

Close to half (44 per cent) of urgent mental health detentions made in the past year were initiated by a doctor without the support and expertise of a mental health officer, it has been revealed. In a report published today, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland also finds that the number of ne

Lynda Brabender

The European Court of Human Rights has unanimously rejected the applications of two men found liable in trespass, following the Omagh bombing in 1998, who claimed they had not been given a fair hearing because the proceedings were essentially criminal in nature and because hearsay evidence of an und

Partners at a City law firm were under fire yesterday after it was claimed they had billed the taxpayer over £100 million to defend the Royal Bank of Scotland against shareholders in what is thought to be one of the biggest awards to a law firm ever made. It was reported yesterday that Herbert Smit

Jonathan Jones Two and a half dozen in-house lawyers have been recruited to a dedicated Whitehall team focused on the Brexit negotiations, The Times reports.

Legislation intended to support the delivery of 50,000 new affordable homes is to be introduced by the Scottish government. By ensuring registered social landlords (RSLs) can be classified as private bodies, the bill will mean that RSLs can borrow money privately.

Shami Chakrabarti Former Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti is set to become the shadow attorney general in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.

Patrick Bell On Sunday 2 October, a team from Shepherd and Wedderburn will lace up their running shoes to take part in this year’s "Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run".

Bridget McCann Members of the Faculty of Advocates have been picking up some expert advice on using and caring for one of the most important tools of their trade – the voice.

Advocate General Sharpston has stated that the Court of Justice of the European Union should annul the measures maintaining Hamas and LTTE on the EU list of terrorist organisations, on procedural grounds. On 27th December 2001, the Council of the European Union adopted a common position and a regula

A British businessman wanted by authorities in Taiwan to serve a prison sentence after he was found guilty of negligent manslaughter following a drink-driving accident has won a human rights appeal to stay in Scotland. Zain Dean, 44, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment after being convicted of