News

Scottish Information Commissioner Rosemary Agnew (pictured) has called for freedom of information (FOI) rights to apply to bodies responsible for social housing. Ms Agnew warned there is a risk that damage will be caused by the outsourcing of important public services unless immediate steps are take

The Law Society of Scotland has welcomed new Home Office rules which mean that Sikh solicitors will no longer have to remove articles of faith when meeting clients in UK detention centres. The Law Society had pressed the Home Office to update the detention services order dealing with search procedur

A man who was wrongly convicted of rape is entitled to claim compensation after judges dismissed an appeal by the Scottish Ministers against a ruling that their decision to refuse his application was “unlawful”. The Inner House of the Court of Session upheld a judgment of the Lord Ordinary, who

A five-year-old has been handed an invoice and his parents threatened with court action - for missing his friend's birthday party. According to the local Plymouth Herald newspaper, Derek Nash and his partner discovered the £15.95 "no show fee" invoice after it was slipped into their son Alex's scho

Joseph Stalin and Yevgeny Dzhugashvili

A draft bill drawn up by Conservative lawyers would see terrorist suspects, illegal immigrants and criminals barred from exercising some of their human rights The draft bill, which would replace the Human Rights Act 1998, provides that rights need to be placed in the historical context of the UK , w

It will be a notable first when the Faculty of Advocates hosts a seminar examining state aid law from a Scottish viewpoint. The half-day event on 2 February, is the first organised by the UK State Aid Law Association (UKSALA) to be held outside London.

Scotland, the only legal jurisdiction in the UK to allow pagans to marry, has had its first same-sex pagan marriage as two male witches tied the knot in Edinburgh. Tom Lanting, 34 and Iain Robertson, 39 were married in Marlin’s Wynd in the capital.

The first minister Nicola Sturgeon (pictured) has confirmed that agreement has been reached with the UK government on the terms of the transfer of powers to allow the Scottish parliament to give 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote in Scottish parliament elections. Once the order has been passed, t

Stuart Cross (pictured) has been appointed to a personal chair at the University of Dundee. He joined the University in 1994 and became a senior lecturer in 2002.

A newly-named body has been established for advocates who specialise in criminal law – the Scottish Criminal Bar Association. The title has been changed from the Faculty of Advocates’ Criminal Bar Association (FACBA), and Thomas Ross has been chosen as president.

Sheriff Principal Mhairi Stephen (pictured) has been appointed as Queen’s Counsel by Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of former first minister Alex Salmond. The sheriff principal for Lothian and Borders was nominated by the lord justice general, Lord Gill.

The new drink drive limit imposed in December will have a greater impact on the future of pubs than the smoking ban did nearly a decade ago according to industry experts. One of the UK’s largest brewery and pub chains said the reduction in the alcohol limit for drivers from 80mg to 50mg for every

New figures have shown that health boards are straining to work through over 1,500 legal claims, some worth up to £5 million. NHS Grampian is facing payouts of up to £24 million in respect of about 100 alleged failures. The health board was recently accused of having “weak leadership and low mor

A man has admitted to attempting to procreate with a postbox after he was spotted in a shopping centre in Wigan. Paul Bennett, 45, was seen rubbing himself up and down the box in the Scholes Precinct shopping centre by a passer-by who called the police.