News

An oil giant has been ordered to cut its global carbon emissions in a landmark ruling involving 17,000 co-plaintiffs. Royal Dutch Shell was ordered by a court in The Hague to lower its emissions by 45 per cent by the end of 2030 as compared with 2019 levels in a case brought by Friends of the Earth.

A £500,000 fund will help places of worship to take security measures against hate crime. Faith communities can apply for grants from the Hate Crime Security Fund, developed by the Scottish government in partnership with Police Scotland.

The Supreme Court announced today that it will launch its first paid internship for those aspiring to a career at the English bar from underrepresented communities. The internship programme has been organised in collaboration with Bridging the Bar, a charity committed to the promotion of equal oppo

It would be highly unwise for referendums on the constitutional future of Northern Ireland to be called without a clear plan for what follows, a major 18-month research project has concluded. The Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland, established by the UCL Constitution U

The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has condemned the Belarusian authorities' forced diversion of a flight carrying dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich as a "reckless and abhorrent act of state terrorism". Mr Pratasevich was arrested after his Ryanair flight from G

The trial of a former police solicitor and two former police officers in relation to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 football fans were unlawfully killed, has collapsed. The three men were accused of perverting the course of justice in relation to their actions following the disaster, in

A former US diplomat has launched a $1.8 million lawsuit against the US government and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo over an unpaid legal bill arising from the impeachment of Donald Trump in 2019. Gordon Sondland was sacked as US ambassador to the European Union two days after testifying at

A private landlord who served notice to leave on his tenants by instructing sheriffs’ officers to deliver the notice has succeeded in overturning a tribunal decision that he had not met the statutory definition of a Notice to Leave under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016

Lord Hope of Craighead has expressed concern that a bill to recognise overseas qualifications could affect Scots lawyers – without their input. The Professional Qualifications Bill, currently at committee stage, would treat individuals seeking to practise particular professions in the UK "as i

New research from Amnesty International UK and the Human Rights Consortium Scotland (HRCS) found evidence that the human rights of people in Scotland were frequently overlooked as major public service redesigns took place during the ‘first wave’ of Covid-19 in 2020. The findings further

Shoosmiths has made seven appointments across several teams in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Lauren Miller, who joins from Shepherd and Wedderburn, has been appointed as legal director in the Glasgow-based real estate team. She adds further expertise in the residential/housebuilder and commercial developme

The supreme authority in the United Kingdom is the rule of law and its application is administered through a balance of the three branches of government and not through attempts by one branch to curb or blunt the role of the others. This was the view of the Faculty of Advocates in its submission to

The maker of Baileys, the world's most popular Irish cream liqueur, has won a UK trade mark dispute against a company seeking to produce a Scottish product called "McBaileys". R & A Bailey & Co, a subsidiary of drinks giant Diageo, filed an objection to the trade mark application lodged by a

Seven trainees at MacRoberts will remain with the firm and become newly qualified lawyers in September.  Christie Carswell, Calum Lavery, Douglas Leslie, Michael Gallagher, Sarah Milne, Nicola Kelly, Nikita Sandhu and Sarah Milne will be joining the firm’s construction, corporate fin

Really Good Data Protection (RGDP LLP) has capped the recruitment of three new data protection officers during the last quarter of its financial year by announcing changes to its management team. Paul Motion has become the new chairman of RGDP following the retirement of Bill Speirs. A solicitor for