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A candidate for political office in Japan is conducting his campaign dressed as the Joker. Yuusuke Kawai, who is hoping to become governor of Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, is running as a candidate for the Party to Make All of Chiba a Land of Dreams and Magic, SoraNews24 reports.

An appeal by the Crown to the High Court of Justiciary against the sentencing of a man convicted of statutory sexual offences involving his niece, a child under the age of 13, has succeeded. At the original sentencing diet of the respondent, JB, aged 55, the sheriff made a community p

Four out of five last-minute legal claims brought by illegal immigrants in an attempt to avoid deportation are eventually rejected, according to the Home Office. An analysis of people detained since 2017 has found more than 70 per cent made new claims or legal appeals days before they were due to be

The European Union is to take legal action today against the UK over its unilateral attempt to change the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, RTÉ News reports. The European Commission will issue legal proceedings in a letter to the UK government, after its decision earlier this month to u

A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) is to be held into the deaths of three fishermen who died in 2016 after their boat sank in the Outer Hebrides. Martin Johnstone, 29, Chris Morrison, 27, and skipper Paul Alliston, 42, were asleep when creel vessel Louisa began taking on water while at anchor.

Lord Neuberger has agreed to remain a judge of Hong Kong's top court for another three years, The Times reports. The former Supreme Court president's decision comes amid calls for the judges to step down over Beijing's attacks on democracy in the territory.

Tributes have been paid to solicitor Kathleen More, who passed away last month. Sheriffs, lawyers and staff at Edinburgh Sheriff Court paid their respects as a live stream of her funeral service was played on screens last week.

The Scottish government is consulting on the detail of plans to pardon miners convicted of certain offences during the 1984-85 strike. An independent review into the impact of policing on communities during the strike, led by John Scott QC, recommended that the Scottish government should introduce l

Linklaters is planning to open an office in Dublin, The Sunday Times reports. The magic circle firm has 5,300 staff in 30 offices around the world and had revenues of £1.64 billion (€1.9 billion) last year.

An international celebration of the 250th anniversary of the life and works of Sir Walter Scott is being launched this month. On World Storytelling Day on March 20 the night sky at Smailholm Tower, in the Borders, will be lit up at an event organised by Abbotsford, Scott’s home near Melrose, a

The Council of Europe has reopened its consideration of the Pat Finucane case following the UK government's refusal to order a fresh public inquiry into the Belfast solicitor's murder in 1998. The Supreme Court ruled in February 2019 that the state had failed to deliver an Article 2 compliant i

A politician has been fined €10,000 (£8,600) for offering a wolf's tail as a retirement present. Jean-Marie Bernard, of France's conservative Republican party, said the gift was a “friendly gesture” as well as a political act to support farmers whose livelihoods were endangere

A judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session has ruled that three former members of a centuries-old Aberdeen association who were expelled for an alleged rule breach were not immune to expulsion by virtue of a change in their membership status. Kevin Brown, Alan Davidson, and&nb

Once again serious shortcomings in Scotland's fatal accident inquiry (FAI) system have been highlighted with the release of FAI findings just days before the tenth anniversary of the tragedy concerned. Seaman Boguslaw Kopec died on 13 March 2011 following an accident aboard the Forth Guardsman, sout

Critics have warned that the hate crime legislation passed yesterday at Holyrood will result in vexatious and malicious complaints. MSPs passed the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill by 82 votes to 32.