News

The number of criminals no longer being prosecuted has reached a record high – with 2,230 diversions from prosecution commencing in 2020-21. The criminal justice social work statistics for 2020-21 also show that there were 8,200 community payback orders initiated in 2020-21, a fall of 51 per c

The High Court of Justiciary has refused an extradition appeal by three American citizens wanted in the state of Virginia for the attempted kidnapping of five children and the attempted killing of their parents. Warrants for the arrest of the appellants, Jennifer Amnott, Valerie Hayes, and Gary Rebu

A scheme to allegedly smuggle thousands of coconuts filled with liquid cocaine into Europe has been foiled by Colombian authorities. The shipment of 19,780 coconuts was seized in Cartagena, a major port in the north of Colombia, shortly before it was due to leave for the Italian port of Genoa, The T

DLA Piper's international turnover was £1.164 billion, down slightly on £1.176 billion in the previous financial year, while profit rose by 17 per cent to £419.3 million thanks to a 25 per cent drop in operating expenses. In the UK, revenue rose slightly to £391.4m from &poun

The Commons' European Scrutiny Committee has begun an inquiry into the future of EU law that was copied into the UK statute book to avoid a legal cliff-edge when the country left the block. The move comes after the UK government confirmed it will bring forward a ‘Brexit Freedoms’ Bill wh

The Scottish Prison Service is to publish the results of a review of its transgender prisoner policy later this year. The review was launched last November in response to an increase in the number of trans people in women's prisons.

Rules on seven-day self-certification for staff sickness absences are back in force for businesses. Lindsays is highlighting the change – one it believes will be welcomed by many firms as they look to return to as normal operational procedures as possible.

The start of February marks the beginning of LGBT+ History Month, and this year’s theme is ‘Politics in Art: The Arc is Long’. To celebrate, members of Shepherd and Wedderburn’s LGBTA+ Focus Group will highlight one piece of iconic LGBTQ+ artwork each week, whether television

The Scottish Legal Complains Commission (SLCC) has opened the consultation on its budget and operating plan for 2022-23. The consultation proposes a five per cent reduction in the levy for solicitors, advocates and commercial attorneys. This is the second year running the SLCC has proposed a reducti

To those of us who dealt daily with the law of prejudice to criminal court proceedings, the claim by the Metropolitan Police force that the publication of the Sue Gray Report might prejudice their criminal inquiry into alleged breaches of the Covid Regulations is surprising, to say the least. The pr

The Aberdeen Law Project has launched a scheme to provide people with little or no income with business attire to wear for job interviews. The ‘OutFit Like’ scheme sees ALP partner with Aberdeen Cyrenians, who will store donated clothing and refer potential service users to the scheme.

The declining provision of civil legal aid has been a "disaster" for Orkney and risks turning it into a legal aid desert, a lawyer has told Scottish Legal News.

A personal injury sheriff has awarded £119,250 in damages to a woman after finding that she was raped by a man she met on a night out in Dundee and that he could not have reasonably believed she had consented to sex. The pursuer, AB, averred that she had not consented to sexual intercourse wit

The next edition of CLT Scotland’s Scots Law Series will be taking place online during March with delegates able to choose from 8 individual conferences. Roy Spiers, CLT Scotland’s Director of Programmes, said: “The past two years has demonstrated the resilience of the legal profes

"A veritable maze" was how Professors Gretton and Reid described the enforcement provisions of standard securities. It is for that reason that the Scottish Law Commission's (SLC) discussion paper on the reform of the law of heritable securities is a very welcome publication, writes Andrew Scott