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A senior member of the criminal bar is to help explore changes in the legal landscape and challenges raised by COVID-19. Shelagh McCall QC, convener of the Faculty of Advocates’ Human Rights and Rule of Law Committee, will take part in a special online conference organised by the Law Society o

Planning lawyer Ewan MacLeod provides detail on the Scottish government’s consultation on the future of Scottish Planning Policy and the removal of the current presumption in favour of sustainable development. In 2014, the Scottish government introduced a significant change to Scottish Plannin

As Scottish business faces one of the toughest-ever economic climates, employers may be questioning whether diversity and inclusion programmes – viewed by some as ‘nice to have’ rather than essential – should be abandoned, writes Alison Woods. With many employers facing huge

Barristers in Northern Ireland have been told that the size of juries in criminal cases could be reduced from 12 to nine or seven members to help clear the COVID-19 backlog. The Office of the Lord Chief Justice, the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service, The Bar of Northern Ireland and the L

To think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral down into ever-increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline — training — is about.

A police force has been criticised for using drones to catch topless or nude bathers at a secluded beach. Officers deployed high-tech surveillance devices to a lakeside beach in the US state of Minnesota following reports of immodest visitors.

A teacher who was removed from the teaching register for misconduct has had her appeal against the decision of the General Teaching Council of Scotland to remove her refused. The appellant, known as LM, faced 15 allegations of misconduct from her probationary year as a primary teacher as well as a s

Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins has announced he will return full-time to his role as the John Millar Professor of Public Law at the University of Glasgow next year. Mr Tomkins, an MSP for the Glasgow region since 2016, will not seek re-election at the upcoming Scottish Parliament election in May 2021

Viscount Melville, The Times reports, is considering applying for a judicial review of the legend on a proposed plaque on the Melville monument to reflect his ancestor's alleged perpetuation of the slave trade. Indeed, his lordship sprang to the defence of his forebear on the BBC's Today programme t

A second year law student at the University of Dundee been named as the second recipient of the Kirk Murdoch Scholarship, which could lead to a traineeship with multinational law firm Pinsent Masons. 19-year-old Emilia Gordon will receive financial support, professional mentoring, and a place on Pin

There is a real risk of unintended consequences from this noble attempt to provide greater clarity, transparency and consistency in hate crime law, writes Fred Mackintosh QC of Terra Firma Chambers. The Justice Committee’s call for views on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill close

A bill aiming to strengthen local government in Scotland through the incorporation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government into Scots law is due to be scrutinised by a Holyrood committee. The Charter, which was created in 1985 by the Council of Europe and ratified by the UK in 1997, sets ou

Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) remain valid but the EU-US Privacy Shield has been struck down, explains Loretta Maxfield. On Thursday 16th July, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) made a landmark decision in Data Protection Commissioner v. Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems

Webinar - The Cumberlege Review: Potential Consequences for Product Liability in Scotland – Wednesday 22nd July at 4pm On 8 July 2020, the Cumberlege review was published in England. It contains a scathing indictment of leadership and regulation of the provision of medicines and medical device

The UK government has named the 10 sites which will host so-called "Nightingale courts" to alleviate the pressure on courts and tribunals resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The sites including Middlesbrough Town Hall, the Knights’ Chamber within the grounds of Peterborough Cathedral, and th