News

CMS has published its latest report in its General Counsel (GC) "Creating connections, bridging gaps" series, produced in partnership with the European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA). The new report considers how GCs can build strategies to develop and succeed as a GC, especially amid the c

A woman who married a tree has marked their first wedding anniversary, The Mirror reports. Kate Cunningham, 38, who took the surname "Elder" upon marrying an elder tree said they have no plans to divorce.

An asylum seeker who claimed to fear persecution from a criminal gang in El Salvador has succeeded in challenging the finding of the Upper Tribunal that there were no arguable grounds of appeal against the original decision.  The petitioner, MF, argued that the First-tier Tribunal judge ha

Richard Keen is widely respected in Scotland for possessing one of the sharpest legal minds of his generation. A brilliant career at the bar led to his election as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates and ultimately to his appointment as Advocate General for Scotland in the UK government. But he now fin

Pressure is growing in the Advocate General for Scotland, Lord Keen of Elie QC, to refuse to give his consent to the proposed UK Internal Market Bill. The bill allows ministers to “disapply” rules agreed over the goods that cross between Britain and Northern Ireland. Section 45(1) of the

A pilot initiative at Hamilton Sheriff Court has been agreed upon in order to help reduce the backlog of summary court cases. The initiative aims to reduce the length of trials, and how many cases proceed to a trial, by encouraging early discussions between defence and prosecution to identify cases

The quantification of damages in the wrongful prosecution of Rangers administrators will not be affected by causation, counsel for the Lord Advocate has said. Gerry Moynihan QC told Lord Tyre in the Outer House on Friday that causation would not affect how much David Whitehouse and Paul Clark would

Former Attorney General Geoffrey Cox QC has threatened to rebel in a crucial government vote after calling it "unconscionable" for the UK to break its treaty commitment to the EU. Last week, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told MPs that provisions in the Internal Market Bill would "break in

Professor Peter Watson, solicitor advocate at PBW Law, has written to the Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC on behalf of two families who lost loved ones in the COVID-19 outbreak at Home Farm Care Home on Skye, requesting full consideration of whether a crime was committed by the operators of

The Inner House at the Court of Session has upheld a decision made by the Crofting Commission denying crofters permission to erect land-based wind turbines on the grounds that the result would be "detrimental to the interests of the land owners". The crofters, living near Stornoway on the Isle of Le

Professor Conor Gearty explores the background to the UK government's threat to depart from its long-standing advocacy of ‘the rule of law’ in international affairs. The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 declared itself a measure ‘to implement, and make other provision

Morton Fraser has donated £10,000 to Scotland's national children's charity, Children 1st, to ensure its Parentline service can continue to serve parents and carers throughout Scotland. Parentline offers specific help and advice about how best to support children with practical and emotional i

The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland is hosting a virtual meeting of the Scottish Public Information Forum (SPIF), focusing on access to information during the COVID-19 crisis. The event will take place virtually on Thursday 24 September 2020 between 14:00 and 15:30.

A police officer who stopped and searched a black man on the sole basis of the smell of cannabis has been rapped by a watchdog. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) upheld the complaint from Emmanuel Arthur, who was searched in London in November 2019 under section 23 of the Misuse of Dr

A court has ruled that a woman who lived and travelled alone without her father's permission had “the right to choose where to live”. A three-year legal battle came to an end after a judge ruled that Mariam al-Otaibi, 32, had committed no crime by moving to Riyadh, against her family's w