News

The European Union's 2020 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought has been awarded to the opposition in Belarus and its leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, for facing up to the Lukashenko regime. Belarus has been in the midst of a political crisis since the disputed presidential elections on 9 August, w

An undercover police officer was beaten up by his colleagues after they mistook him for a protestor. Riot police in Jambi, Indonesia have been filmed violently beating people protesting the country's job creation law.

To mark Black History Month, SLN is dedicating its ‘Our Legal Heritage’ slot to Scotland’s black history.   For centuries the identity of a young black woman present in a portrait of Lady Elizabeth Murray that adorns the Ambassador’s room of Scone Palace was a myste

A Nigerian citizen with no right to remain in the UK who was ordered to be deported following the end of a prison sentence has successfully appealed a decision of the Upper Tribunal that his deportation would not disproportionately interfere with the ECHR rights of his family.  The appellant,&n

Possible diluting of the judicial review court process, by which a check can be kept on the legality of government decision-making, has been condemned by the Faculty of Advocates. In evidence to a review of the procedure, the Faculty described as “chilling” any suggestion that some decis

An astonishing admission was made by Scotand's Lord Advocate in the Court of Session at the end of August. He conceded that his predecessor's 2012 prosecution of the two men called in as administrators of Rangers Football Club was malicious. This is a shameful milestone in the legal history of this

Anxious householders could be further confused by mixed messaging after the Scottish government confirmed it will seek to delay legislation on fire safety standards, according to a legal expert. The new laws, which were scheduled to come in force in February 2021, would require all homes t

Insurance risk and commercial law specialist BLM has celebrated success in the first post-lockdown proof trial at Perth Sheriff Court. Kelly Brotherhood, an associate at the firm, acted for 1st Central on behalf of a customer (the defender), in a trial heard by Sheriff Wade last month.

The Ampersand Advocates Bitesized webinar series continues tomorrow with Archie MacSporran discussing complications of accommodation costs, following the recent Swift v Carpenter judgment. Mr MacSporran will discuss out how to value an accommodation claim with an analysis of the Court of A

The International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and the Scottish Arbitration Centre have announced that the XXVth ICCA Congress has been re-scheduled from February 2021 to 26-29 September 2021 in Edinburgh.  Lucy Reed, president of ICCA, said: “We have been monitoring the Covi

Terra Firma Chambers has maintained its Band 1 rankings for Planning and Environmental Law, Agriculture & Rural Affairs and Tax in the latest edition of Chambers & Partners UK Directory and received praise for its ‘first class’ service. Described as ‘the market leader

Shared Parenting Scotland is launching a series of online, interactive training courses to help separated parents control their own stress and to improve their communication skills.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) procurement team has been selected as one of the five finalists in the ‘Procurement Team of the Year’ category at GO Awards Scotland. The nomination highlights how the procurement function at SCTS has developed over the last couple of

As a 17-year-old, I first met the late, great, and sadly missed David Lessels (1949-2018) at a law school information day. I brashly declared I would become an advocate. He smiled wryly. Fast forward several penniless years to my traineeship. At last I was earning. Two years later, I even had some m

Human rights group Reprieve has condemned the United Arab Emirates' threat to forcibly repatriate 18 Yemeni former Guantánamo detainees - which has been confirmed by multiple sources who spoke to the Associated Press. Forced disappearance and torture are rife in Yemen, as the UN recently repo