News

Scottish Government legislation banning the display of tobacco products in stores has come into force for small stores. The Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act was passed by Holyrood in 2010, but its implementation was held up by legal challenges from Imperial Tobacco, who took their

South Africa-based businessman Dave King can become a director of Rangers International Football Club PLC, following a decision by the Court of Session. King was forced to apply for approval under a section of the Insolvency Act last month because of his involvement in the Rangers oldco which went i

From left: Richard Pugh, Stephanie Tinney and Madeleine MacPhail

Scottish lawyers who served and died in the First World War are celebrated in a new national memorial unveiled by the Law Society of Scotland.

Andy Knox The Home Office is facing criticism for its refusal to recognise Scottish-based English language tests for people seeking British citizenship.

Professor Alan Miller The European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), which the Scottish Human Rights Commission chairs, has spoken of the need to focus on greater implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

A single mother-of-five has successfully challenged a council’s decision that it had discharged its duty to house her homeless family by offering accommodation in another local authority area more than 50 miles away. The UK Supreme Court ruled that the council had acted unlawfully and quashed the

In a Court of Session judgement issued on Thursday,Morton Fraser was successful in securing substantial damages for its client injured when her artery was punctured during a routine procedure at Falkirk & District Royal Infirmary in 2009. Morton Fraser represented Annabelle Bell of Falkirk, in a

Thousands of alleged criminal offences have not been acted on because police have been too late in handing their reports to prosecutors. Nearly 4,000 charges were reported to the Crown Office and Procurators Fiscal Service (COPFS) over the past six years that were outwith the six to 12-month statuto

The lord advocate has rebutted academics' claims of a “shameful lack of clarity” over the law on assisted suicide. Responding to a letter published in the Herald, Frank Mulholland QC (pictured) said those who help people to die would, as the law stands, be prosecuted under homicide laws.

Antisocial drunks could be handed “alcohol ASBOs” barring them from pubs and clubs under new alcohol legislation proposed at Holyrood. The largest members’ bill ever seen in the Scottish parliament provides for “drinking banning orders” (DBO) which would run for up to two years and which l

The Faculty of Advocates has backed calls for a specialist tribunal or court in Scotland which would provide an effective forum for deciding environmental cases. Friends of the Earth Scotland (FoES) is campaigning for change, and the Faculty said it supported a dedicated tribunal or court which coul

A family who fought with their neighbours for more than three decades over a high hedge have been defeated. Audrey Alexander's fight against her neighbour over the hedge started 23 years ago but the seeds were sown 35 years ago when her aunt, the former owner, planted a vegetable garden which died i

NHS advisers are calling for the legal drinking age to be increased from 18 to 21 in Scotland in an attempt to crack down on binge drinking and save money. The move would apply to clubs, pubs, supermarkets and off-licenses.