News

A High Court judge is to be asked whether the families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing can launch an appeal to get the conviction of Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi overturned. Mr al-Megrahi was the only person convicted over the bombing of a Pan Am plane that killed 270 people as it flew over the so

Ending the automatic early release of prisoners will affect cases where a judge is considering a non-mandatory life sentence, the Faculty of Advocates has told MSPs. When examining the option of an order for lifelong restriction (OLR), the Faculty said, a judge must look forward and assess whether t

The Parole Board for Scotland has published its Annual Report 2013-14 today. The report shows, among other things, that out of 426 prisoner cases referred to the Board, 139 (or 33 per cent) were recommended for release on parole.

Following yesterday’s publication by the UK government of a draft bill for the transfer of powers from Westminster to Holyrood Alistair Morris, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said: “We welcome the publication of the draft clauses and are pleased to see that they take into account the

A disgruntled client who sued his former solicitors for damages but learned that a lawyer acting on his behalf had settled the action without his authority has failed in an appeal against a decision to absolve his former solicitors from further proceedings. Judges in the Inner House of the Court of

Top judges have said that plans to increase fees for those wanting to bring lawsuits in the commercial court by up to 622 per cent could damage businesses and also endanger London’s position as a global centre for litigation. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) intends to raise £120 million in addition

An application for protected food status has been launched for a Scottish barley .

Gus Macaulay (pictured) discusses the prospect of raising a small claims action in Scotland for a very small sum following the recent news story from England of a parent making a claim against another over their child’s failure to attend a birthday party.

The Faculty of Advocates has called for new Scottish tax tribunals to be given a “brief but powerful” overriding objective. Under current Scottish government plans, the guiding principle for the tribunals would be to deal with cases “accessibly, fairly, quickly and effectively”.

Donald Trump has renewed his legal challenge against an offshore windfarm he claims is destroying his attempts to build a golf resort in the north east. Mr Trump has raised a court action in the Court of Session against Scottish ministers who are supporting the Aberdeen Bay scheme.

Finance Secretary John Swinney (pictured) has, as expected, set out new rates for the land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT), a move forced upon him by UK chancellor George Osborne, whose changes to UK stamp duty undercut Mr Swinney's initial proposals. The new rates will see 50 per cent of all h

Sheriff Kevin Drummond expressed his dismay yesterday when Peebles Sheriff Court was closed. The judge told a gathering of local lawyers that the Peebles court, which has existed since Medieval times, was a “a model for the provision of rural justice services across the country” given as

The UK government has published a draft bill detailing the powers to be transferred to the Scottish parliament following the recommendations made by the Smith Commission. It comprises: constitutional matters, fiscal framework, tax, welfare, public bodies, executive agencies and the crown estate, civ

A petition for judicial review of legislation which will see a “named person” assigned to almost every child in Scotland has been refused by a judge in the Court of Session. Four charities and three individuals contended that provisions in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 passed

A “white van man” found guilty of three charges of breach of the peace after repeatedly staring at children in public places and attempting to lure a young boy into his vehicle has failed in appeal against conviction. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that a sheriff’s decision to repel a “no c