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The Lord Advocate and Chief Constable of Police Scotland have set clear priorities for the investigation and prosecution of crime as measures to tackle the coronavirus outbreak come in to force. In a joint statement, James Wolffe QC and Iain Livingstone QPM stressed their commitment to keeping peopl

Shepherd and Wedderburn has established a COVID-19 advisory group, which draws relevant, specialist expertise from across the firm to support clients with informed, pragmatic legal advice on the unprecedented challenges posed by the global pandemic. The group comprises specialists who are leaders in

A Glasgow lawyer writes: “An unexpected bonus of home-working is the view from my office window. I’m used to foxy clients but here’s the real thing - crouching down and waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting pigeon. Nature can be cruel – as we are now discovering...”

Four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in 2012 have been hanged. Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh were given death sentences at a trial in 2013.

An international arbitration conference which had been due to take place in Edinburgh in May has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Congress of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA 2020) – the arbitration Olympics – was to have been hosted by the Sc

Jonathan Seddon looks at the potential impact of coronavirus on UK construction projects being procured under JCT. I started looking at the potential impact that the coronavirus might have on my client's construction projects a few weeks ago when the virus hadn’t actually yet arrived in t

The developer obligations and conveyancing teams at Aberdeenshire Council have added to their recent success at the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning by being named legal team of the year at the SOLAR (Society of Local Authority Lawyers and Administrators) awards.

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Hope in the Midst of the Coronavirus | Human Rights Watch

A judge known to be the richest in China has been charged with fraud, abuse of her power and taking bribes after it was revealed she had amassed her $200 million fortune through gambling. Zhang Jiahui, 55, former vice-president of the High People’s Court in Hainan province, was indicted after

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the world’s largest unsolved art theft, in which 13 pieces worth around $500 million, including paintings by famous artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and Manet, were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Owing to the current emergency, the Lord President and Lord Advocate have agreed to a programme of changes to criminal court business, which together with changes to civil court business, tribunal hearings and the work of the Office of the Public Guardian aim to provide a sustainable response during

A man convicted of a so-called “revenge porn” offence after posting an intimate picture of a former partner on Facebook has successfully challenged a decision to place him on the sex offenders register. The Sheriff Appeal Court ruled that while the offence was motivated by a desire

A Pakistani man who was trafficked to the UK at the behest of his step-grandmother and whose case to remain in the UK was rejected by the inferior courts has prevailed in an appeal to the Supreme Court. The court unanimously allowed the appeal. Lady Hale gave the only judgment, with which Lord Kerr,

Council tenants facing eviction in West Dunbartonshire have been given temporary reprieve as it would be "morally wrong" to oust them during the coronavirus pandemic. The local authority was granted a motion yesterday at Dumbarton Sheriff Court to sist all summary cause eviction cases currently in p

Edinburgh Law School has closed down and all teaching and assessment has moved online, following the advice of the UK and Scottish governments. LLB exams, however, will proceed and will be conducted online.