News

A dystopian system designed to predict crime and stop it before it happens has resulted in a scheme that harasses residents of a small community in the US. Chris Nocco, sheriff of Pasco County in Florida, took office in 2011 with the idea of catching people harbouring criminal intent, the Tampa Bay

In 1687 the Court of Session in Scotland memorably declared that “We have no slaves in Scotland”. Tragically, that is no longer true, if it ever was, and the evils of modern slavery and people trafficking still reach these shores today.

A patent infringement appeal brought against the UK branch of the telecommunications company Huawei has been dismissed by the UK Supreme Court after the company challenged the decision by the English Court of Appeal to uphold the trial judge’s order. Unwired Planet International Ltd, the respo

The Scottish Parliament’s Covid-19 Committee is set to take evidence on renewing the emergency legislation passed to deal with the pandemic. The legislation, the Coronavirus (Scotland) Acts, will expire on 30 September, unless the Parliament agrees to extend them.

The Scottish Greens have told the UK government to keep their polygraph tests out of Scotland’s legal system following reports that ‘Jeremy Kyle’ lie detector tests could be rolled out across the UK for convicted terrorists. A review of terror legislation has recommended

Michael Vaughan has been promoted to senior associate at MacRoberts LLP. A member of the commercial dispute resolution team in Edinburgh, he is experienced in a wide range of contentious matters and regularly acts for companies, insurers, public bodies and private individuals in proceedings within t

The effect of the Limitation (Childhood Abuse) (Scotland) Act 2017, and whether a claim for historic abuse in Scotland should be allowed to proceed in the English courts, was considered by the High Court in its recent judgment, JXJ v The Province of Great Britain of the Institute of Brothers of the

Fife Law Centre, which exists to support people who have unmet legal needs, has appointed Louise Laing as a solicitor. Ms Laing has specialised in child and family law since qualifying in 2009. She is an accredited child law specialist and previously worked for Edinburgh-based firms.

Emily Pike and Rosie Taylor look at the implication of the recent case Villiers v Villiers on the issues of 'jurisdiction shopping', divorce law, trust law, inheritance, and powers of attorney. In July, the UK Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Villiers v Villiers 2020 UKSC 3

A hard-hitting animation film has been launched to highlight the impact of grief and the support that is available in Scotland.  The idea was developed after personal injury lawyers, Watermans Solicitors, identified a need to support potential claimants who have suffered the sudden loss of a lo

A group of six children and young adults from Portugal are taking 33 countries, including the United Kingdom, to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) over the current climate change crisis. The group, whose ages range from eight to 21, are taking 33 countries to the ECtHR to ask that the court

A tax break scheme to lure the wealthy to Italy has attracted super-rich Britons. The €100,000-a-year flat tax, which is payable on money earned abroad by anyone who changes their tax residence to Italy, has seen 784 high worth individuals make the move in the first two years, The Times reports

A mother who was found by the English High Court of Justice to have wrongfully retained her children in England after moving from Germany with them has successfully appealed the decision in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division).  The children, aged 6 and 8 at the time of the application, ha

The cost of implementing the Scottish government's hate crime proposals have been vastly underestimated, according to the body representing the police rank and file. The Scottish Police Federation told Holyrood's Finance and Constitution Committee that the costs set out by the Scottish government we

A full statutory public interest defence should be available to anyone accused of an unauthorised disclosure offence under the Official Secrets Act 1989, the Law Commission has recommended. In a report on espionage and unauthorised disclosures laid before Parliament, the commission states that the O