News

New legislation to ensure that all youngsters have the opportunity to experience at least one week of residential outdoor education will move a step closer today as Liz Smith MSP launches the formal consultation period on her member’s bill. The Scottish Conservative MSP believes that outdoor e

Businesses that breach UK consumer protection laws will be subject to fines of up to 10 per cent of their annual global turnover under proposed changes to UK legislation. The plans are part of a broader suit of legislative changes which will bolster the UK’s consumer law enforcement regime. Ou

A 56-year-old fishing boat skipper has been fined £3,211 after being found guilty of illegal fishing in a marine protected area off Scotland’s northwest coast. Alex Murray, of the Isle of Lewis, was in charge of the FV Star of Annan while it was operating with its fishing gear deployed w

A solicitor has detailed the significant volume of work involved in domestic abuse cases following an announcement by defence lawyers that they are boycotting them. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) said this week that is members would no longer accept new instructions in summary cases

Italian children will no longer be compelled by law to take their fathers' surnames following a ruling of the country's Constitutional Court this week. The decision states that parents should be permitted to give their children either or both parents' surnames. In Italy, women keep their maiden name

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Ukraine names 10 Russian soldiers in alleged human rights abuses in Bucha

The Law Society of Scotland is working in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) to help promote the use of arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) which is an attractive option for many legal clients. Solicitors are well-placed to advise on ADR

Partners at law firms in England and Wales saw their pay increase by nearly 40 per cent in the first full year of the pandemic, according to new figures. A survey conducted for the Law Society found that median net profits per equity partner increased by 39 per cent from £146,417 in 2020 to &p

The Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee has backed the general principles of the Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Bill “on balance”. This support was agreed with a warning that the Scottish government must make changes to ensure that the measures introduced by the bill will

An action for damages raised against a care home that allowed a high-risk teen under its care to have unsupervised leave, during which time he raped a child, has been dismissed by a judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session. The action was raised by the child’s grandmother, A, against c

The UK government has been accused of undermining free and fair elections after securing support in the Lords for its plans to give ministers more control over the Electoral Commission. The Elections Bill will allow ministers to develop a strategy and policy statement for the UK's elections watchdog

Hospitality bosses have agreed a strict zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment of staff in their venues with the launch of a new action plan today. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and UKHospitality have worked closely together to produce a practical resource to stop the harassm

Singapore has executed an intellectually disabled man for smuggling heroin over a decade ago. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a 34-year-old Malaysian who had an IQ of 69, was hanged yesterday despite a widespread plea for clemency.

Families who lost loved ones to Covid are considering action “against those responsible for the preventable deaths”. The news follows a ruling of the High Court in London that the UK government’s failure to isolate people released from hospitals to care homes without testing early