News

The Scottish Law Commission today has published a discussion paper on updating the mental element in homicide. The crimes of murder and culpable homicide are generally regarded as the most serious of all crimes in Scots law, in terms of gravity and impact on victims and their families.

An eminent Scottish solicitor, who was instrumental in establishing the independence of Malawi, will be awarded honorary life membership of the Law Society of Scotland later today. Colin Cameron graduated in law from the University of Glasgow in 1957 and moved to what was then known as Nyasaland tha

Drummond Miller LLP has announced a number of senior promotions across the firm’s practice areas and offices, including the assumption of three new partners: Sharon Fleming in private client; Sarah Jack in immigration; and Ailsa Meiklejohn in conveyancing and property.

Usman Tariq and Dean of Faculty, Roddy Dunlop QC, were counsel in a high-profile intellectual property dispute concerning lookalike products sold by supermarkets. They acted together with Burness Paull LLP for William Grant & Sons, the owner of the famous Hendrick’s Gin, in proceeding

David Coutts has been appointed the head of Simpson & Marwick's new family law department. The Edinburgh-based lawyer joins from Turcan Connell where he was head of their Glasgow team. Before this, he qualified and spent eight years at Anderson Strathern.

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