News

Criminals who commit "alcohol-fuelled crime" can be banned from drinking and made to wear "sobriety tags" under new legislation now in force in England and Wales. The ankle tags, which have been successfully piloted, sample the wearer's sweat every 30 minutes to determine whether alcohol has been co

The COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily brought a halt to the Edinburgh Tax Network’s regular in-person lunchtime seminars. However, with the support of Terra Firma Chambers and the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the talks will continue and be presented using a virtual format. The first webina

James Hamilton, writing for the WS Society, explores how enlightenment values helped Edinburgh defeat the twin scourges of typhoid and cholera. They didn’t speak of it, so we do not know what the builders of the Edinburgh New Town thought would have become of their city a century later. Abando

A renowned expert on serial killers who delivered training to police and judges has admitted that he faked most of his life's work. Stéphane Bourgoin, 67, falsely claimed that he had been trained by the FBI and that his own wife had fallen victim to a serial killer.

Every criminal case brought under the Coronavirus Act 2020 in England and Wales has been scrapped because they were incorrectly charged. Following a review of more than 200 cases brought under coronavirus laws, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said all 44 cases brought under the 2020 Act were inc

A Chinese national who was identified as a victim of modern slavery but was initially refused discretionary leave to remain in the UK has successfully petitioned for a reduction of the decision. The petitioner, ZL, challenged the decision of the Home Secretary on the grounds that she had erred

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has been successful in defending a ‘leave to appeal’ case in the Inner House of the Court of Session. The complainer sought leave to appeal against the SLCC’s decision that his complaint was time-barred and ineligible for investigatio

Douglas Mill looks at the handling of the current crisis and its likely outcomes for the profession. I'll save you googling it. It was Daniel Defoe in 1772 writing about London in 1665. And here's another quote for you: "The people did not flee the city. Some shut themselves inside their homes, thin

Legal mental health charity LawCare has released data on all COVID-19 related contacts it has received to date for Mental Health Awareness Week. Forty-eight legal professionals have contacted the charity with issues related to COVID-19 since 10 March, making up over a third (37 per cent) of all cont

More than £60,000 is being invested by the Scottish government to provide additional support to women involved in prostitution during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding will help nine organisations across Scotland increase their staffing and enable women involved in prostitution to access supp

Karyn McCluskey explains why the status quo on prison numbers cannot continue. The words you use matter. To give a random example, If I tell you to "stay alert" you might be a bit confused as to what you’re being asked to do. You might not necessarily assume I mean “stay at home as much

CMS has advised United Capital in its acquisition of Bellshill-headquartered central heating provider Saltire Facilities Management for an undisclosed sum. Saltire Facilities Management has more than 320 direct employees and is currently one of the UK’s largest central heating and electrical s

Roger Connon extols the benefits of remote working as it looks set to become the new norm. Remote working has come of age during the COVID-19 crisis and it will have a lasting impact on the way in which oil and gas lawyers conduct business. The pandemic has undoubtedly altered the mindset of corpora

An investigation has been launched into the removal of pews from a former Edinburgh church owned by a prominent ballet boss amid concerns that COVID-19 is providing cover for unauthorised work. The 192-year-old St Stephen's church building in the New Town has been owned since 2017 by Peter Schaufuss

A dispute concerning the terms of a guarantee agreement between a biogas company that instructed a contractor to build it an anaerobic digestion plant in Aberdeenshire and the contractor’s sub-contractor has been resolved in favour of neither party. Buchan Biogas Ltd contracted with Willi