News

M&A volume in Scotland last year rose by 10.7 per cent to 446 announced deals, up from 403 in 2021, with a total deal value of £24.8 billion, the latest Experian United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review shows. The value of deals was 22 per cent higher than the p

The High Court of Justiciary has refused an appeal against conviction by a man charged with involvement with an organised crime group and the murder of a man shot outside a club in Amsterdam after ruling that the jury was correctly directed on how to use evidence provided by a police informant. Appe

It comes as no great surprise that Shamima Begum has lost her appeal against the Home Secretary's decision of 19 February 2019 depriving her of United Kingdom citizenship, writes Ronnie Clancy KC. This latest judgment from the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) is the culmination of proce

Terra Firma Chambers’ Scott Blair and Graham Dunlop appeared in the recent case of Bruce v Moray Council [2023] CSIH 11, an appeal to the Inner House which set in sharp focus the situation where a local review board allowed an appeal by a developer seeking planning permission for houses and wh

PBW Law has announced that Professor Peter Watson has been appointed president elect of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences (BAFS). As an organisation BAFS encourages study, improves practice, disseminates information and advances knowledge in forensic science and forensic medicine for public b

A private member's bill extending Ireland's rent freeze by a year has sailed through second stage – after a government minister forgot to oppose it. The Eviction Ban Bill 2022 was introduced to the Dáil by Richard Boyd Barrett of the left-wing party People Before Profit, which has just

A former prison officer caught smuggling Class A drugs into a top security jail has been jailed for six years and three months. Heather McKenzie secretly ferried cocaine and mobile phones into Shotts Prison in Lanarkshire.

Sir Iain Livingstone is to step down as chief constable of Police Scotland in the summer. He took the role on in 2018 and has been a serving officer since 1992. Sir Iain is responsible for 23,000 officers and staff in what is the second largest police force in the UK.

Three new members have been appointed to the Scottish Civil Justice Council for a three-year term.

The contemporary challenges that contract draftsmen need to overcome will be the key theme at CLT Scotland’s Contract Conference taking place exclusively in-person on Monday 6 March at the Hilton Glasgow. Chaired by Brandon Malone, the conference will include topics ranging from limiting liabi

Deep and wide-ranging concerns have been expressed about a UK bill which will create a ‘legal cliff edge’. These concerns are contained in a new report by the Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. The report follows the committee’

An independent review of new policing technologies, chaired at Edinburgh Napier University, has suggested statutory codes of practice could be considered to provide greater clarity and safeguards around the future use of live facial recognition and certain artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Ms Mama Fatima Singhateh, the UN Special Rapporteur on sale and sexual exploitation of children, is to deliver a lecture at Edinburgh Law School next month. The lecture will take place at 17:30 on 14 March 2023, in the King Khalid Building, Edinburgh.

A Dunfermline sheriff has dismissed an action by a former employee of a student housing provider who alleged that his employer had breached UK GDPR rules when processing his personal data in the context of defending tribunal proceedings brought by another employee. Courtney Riley, who was employed b

Nicola Ross discusses two court procedures unique to Scotland which can be beneficial to parties. Scottish court procedure can often seem like a dark art to many practitioners located beyond Scotland. To be fair, sometimes that can be for good reason! However, there are ongoing efforts to modernise