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Gender Recognition Act reforms should not be rushed, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has told MSPs at Holyrood. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill aims to make it easier for trans people to change their legally recognised sex.

Scotland’s freedom of information (FOI) commissioner has told the Scottish government to take urgent action to rectify “significant and systemic” failures in the FOI system. Daren Fitzhenry said he found “a number of areas where performance and practice fell short” desp

The United Nations Security Council must renew its arms embargo on the territory of South Sudan amid the state’s failure to ensure accountability for conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and to protect survivors, witnesses and judicial actors, Amnesty International said today in a new repor

Katie Boyle has been promoted to chair of international human rights law at the University of Stirling. Professor Boyle leads on human rights research and teaching in the faculty of arts and humanities, including establishing an interdisciplinary masters programme together with Rowan Cruft, professo

A newly published judgment from 2019 details how former Scottish MP Natalie McGarry, who was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for embezzlement that year, won an appeal against a sheriff’s decision not to allow her to withdraw her guilty pleas, with the Crown granted authority fo

A notorious cat dubbed the "most prosecuted" in her local area has been vindicated in court after years of litigation. Miska, a brown tabby cat in Bellevue, Washington, racked up more than $30,000 (around €28,500) in fines for allegedly trespassing on neighbouring properties and taunting other

Senators of both parties have agreed a deal over a draft bill that would widen the ambit of a 1996 war crimes law to give American courts jurisdiction in cases involving foreign atrocities, in an apparent response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The draft bill, obtained by The New York Times, wo

A lawyer who was fined after telling a joke in court suffered a violation of his right to freedom of expression, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled. Mirko Simic, a lawyer in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told the joke – about a professor who expected his students to provide not onl

Shoosmiths, which has offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, is to increase NQ salaries. The firm announced that salaries will rise by 16 per cent on November 1 this year.

Following a two-year financial support package for Scottish solicitors to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, the Law Society of Scotland is proposing a practising certificate fee which is "lower in real terms" compared to the pre-pandemic fee level.  The Law Society agreed a £2.2 millio

A former lawyer breached his duty of care to his client, a Kazakh mining giant, while the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) acted with "bad faith opportunism" before a major criminal investigation, the High Court has ruled. Former Dechert lawyer Neil Gerrard, who represented Eurasian Natural Resources Corp

Last week was not a good week for the Faculty of Advocates. The findings of an internal disciplinary hearing provoked Rape Crisis Scotland to allege that there existed "a culture of misogyny amongst some members of the Faculty of Advocates and lay bare an environment where entitled, arrogant attitud

Hamilton man James McGee, a retired tax inspector who stole a dead man's identity to carry out a £170,000 VAT fraud, has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years' imprisonment at Ayr Sheriff Court. James McGee, 66, utilised his 40 years of expertise to obtain false payments from HMRC.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Fairley sentenced Brandon Boyd to six years and 10 months and Connor Clark to eight years' imprisonment after the offenders pleaded guilty to hamesucken and robbery. On sentencing Lord Fairley made the statement below in court. On the evening of 13 June 2019, Marga

Edinburgh solicitor and musician Joe Boyd has released two songs. Ballads Solace and Take Me Away are now available to stream on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube Music and elsewhere.