News

Russia's top court has banned the "international LGBT movement" as an "extremist organisation" at the behest of the Russian government in a move widely condemned by human rights and LGBT+ organisations. Judge Oleg Nefedov approved the Russian justice ministry's request after a four-hour hearing yest

Former chancellor Alistair Darling has died at the age of 70. Educated at Chinthurst School, in Tadworth, Surrey, then in Kirkcaldy, and at the private Loretto School, in Musselburgh, he obtained an LLB from Aberdeen University and qualified as a solicitor in 1978. He was admitted to Faculty in 1984

Aretha Franklin's sons have been awarded ownership of the late singer's former homes on the basis of a handwritten will which was found down the back of her sofa months after she died. Judge Jennifer Callaghan on Monday divided the musician's real estate assets between her four sons on the basis of

A criminal defence lawyer who defecated in a Pringles can and then tossed the soiled vessel into the car park of a victims' charity has been suspended from practice. Ohio attorney Jack A. Blakeslee admitted throwing the can from his car window on his way to a court hearing in 2021, but denied delibe

The Crown Office has lodged a first notice to begin the court process for a fatal accident inquiry into the death of 30-year-old Gregg Anderson. Mr Anderson died on 26 December 2021 at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. He had been an inmate within HMP Glenochil when he was admitted

Proposals to help the Gaelic and Scots languages prosper in the years ahead have been set out in legislation today, as Scotland marks St Andrew’s Day. One of the proposals in the Scottish Languages Bill is the creation of new Areas of Linguistic Significance, which would give Gaelic communitie

Digital assets and the legal framework surrounding them will be the focus of a new research project funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE). A team from the University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Commercial Law consisting of Dr Burcu Yüksel Ripley, Dr Alisdair MacPherson and Luci Care

A barrister who raised his hand in a Nazi salute in court has been fined by the Bar Standards Board.

Criminals have been prevented from fraudulently withdrawing around £29 million from bank accounts over the last five years, according to a report into serious organised crime in Scotland. The report by Scotland’s Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCT) updates on the success of the Bank

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, a former Scottish Office minister in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, has passed away at the age of 81. The second son of the 14th Duke of Hamilton, he represented Edinburgh West as an MP from 1974 until 1997, and subsequently served as a list MSP for th

A report on land trends has brought fresh insights into rural land transactions in Scotland. New research has shown an upswing in the demand for farmland, with Aberdeenshire and Dumfriesshire emerging as prime locations and Argyll, Central, and Southwest Scotland being at the forefront of the demand

Addleshaw Goddard has announced that Andrew Johnston has been elected managing partner in an uncontested election for a term of four years, taking effect from 1 May 2024. Mr Johnston joined Addleshaw Goddard in 2013, to lead the firm's M&A practice in the Middle East. He has been a board member

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is facing a special review of its 'A status' as a national human rights institution after LGBT+ groups raised concerns about its political independence. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) agreed to carry out the special

A question from a politician gave the Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian, pause for thought, and laughter, at Holyrood yesterday. The judge, along with Lord Ericht, was appearing before the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, which was taking evidence on the Regulation of Legal Servi

The student-run Law Clinic at the University of Strathclyde has been named a winner in the Herald’s Law Awards of Scotland, in recognition of its work in giving access to justice to communities in the Glasgow area.