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Blood donors will be rewarded with Christmas trees under a novel scheme in Poland. The national forestry service's "Christmas Tree for Life" campaign will see anyone who donates blood, platelets or plasma tomorrow given a free fir tree.

An appeal by the Secretary of State for the Home Department against an Upper Tribunal decision to reduce a decision not to grant leave to remain to a Pakistani man who applied as the parent of children by two different mothers has had his appeal has been refused by the English Court of Appeal. Dr Wa

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain QC has claimed that juryless trials "don’t impact on the right to a fair trial". In an interview with Holyrood magazine, Ms Bain said that "we need to look at the suitability of a jury to prosecute a case".

Responding to the launch of the Scottish government’s consultation on Scotland’s three verdicts, the Law Society of Scotland has said that the fundamental principles of Scots criminal law must be maintained in any future considerations for change. Debbie Wilson, convener of the Law Socie

The UK government will compensate former Post Office workers who were wrongly convicted of theft in the Horizon saga. The disgraced Post Office said it is unable to cover the payments for the exonerated individuals.

Susanne Tanner QC has been commissioned by the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain QC as assistant principal crown counsel. Ms Tanner, whose appointment has been planned for some time, called to the Scottish bar in 2000 and took silk in 2016. From 2019 to 2021, she held the office of director of Ampersand Ad

The mausoleum of the institutional writer Sir George Mackenzie, who became lord advocate 1677, has allegedly been violated by a tomb raider. Known as Bluidy Mackenzie for his treatment of the Covenanters he is famous nowadays for haunting the kirkyard at Greyfriars in Edinburgh, filling visitors wit

Tony Graham QC, stable director at Optimum Advocates in Glasgow, has been elected as the new chairman of Faculty Services Limited (FSL). FSL is the service company established by the Faculty of Advocates to provide administrative and support services to advocates.

NatWest has been fined £264.8 million following convictions for three offences of failing to comply with money laundering regulations. Mrs Justice Cockerill, the sentencing judge at Southwark Crown Court, said yesterday: “...it must be borne in mind that although in no way complicit in t

Edinburgh Council does not have a universally positive, open, safe and supportive whistleblowing and organisational culture, according to a report by Susanne Tanner QC. The report into the Review of the Whistleblowing and Organisational Culture of the City of Edinburgh Council was com

Act of Sederunt (Sheriff Appeal Court Rules) 2021/468 This Act of Sederunt consolidates and restates the Act of Sederunt (Sheriff Appeal Court Rules) 2015/356 with modifications. It makes provision about the procedure to be followed in appeals to the Sheriff Appeal Court in civil proceedings. The ru

Victims and survivors of the 1975 Miami Showband killings will receive close to £1.5 million in damages following a settlement with the Ministry of Defence and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Three members of The Miami Showband – Fran O'Toole, Brian McCoy and Tony Geraghty &ndash

Billionaire celebrity Kim Kardashian West has passed an exam for first-year law students on the fourth attempt. Mrs Kardashian – daughter of famous US attorney Robert Kardashian – announced she had passed the so-called "baby bar" in California.

An Edinburgh sheriff has ruled that a £35 charge for the storage of secure data and call recordings could not be recovered from the estate of a debtor for the purposes of insolvency legislation after an appeal under section 188 of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 was made against a

The Scottish Law Commission has published a consultation on the draft Leases (Automatic Continuation etc.) (Scotland) Bill. The commission announced in its tenth programme of law reform that it would examine aspects of the Scots law of leases. The first item to be considered under its overarching pr