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Legislation providing for the introduction of a points-based UK immigration system after Brexit has passed second reading in the House of Commons. The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill 2020, supported by the Democratic Unionist Party, was passed by 351-252.

Police Scotland has been reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) over the use of breath tests during the pandemic. The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) said in a letter to the HSE that it was concerned for officers' safety while conducting drink drive tests.

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has written to Holyrood's Justice Committee to highlight concerns about measures being taken in prisons during the pandemic. The commission expressed concern that the current conditions being experienced by some people in Scottish prisons could amount to inhuman

If anything positive can be taken from the coronavirus pandemic it is that, almost overnight, accommodation was found for large numbers of Scotland’s street-homeless population. As soon as the lockdown was announced charities and local authorities mobilised, hotel rooms were acquired and rough

The Scottish University Law Clinic Network (SULCN) is hosting a webinar led by SULCN’s founding student members Eamon Keane, Hannah Cosgrove and Ryan Whelan, reflecting upon their experience and careers to date. In this 90-minute online workshop, SULCN’s founding student members wil

Roddy Cormack explores the role of designers in the return to operations for the construction industry in the midst of the pandemic. It’s important to remember the responsibilities for ensuring a safe and healthy construction site don’t rest solely with the contractors. Under the Co

Capturing the zeitgeist, FLAGS (Family Law Arbitration Group Scotland) has arranged training by Zoom tomorrow on conducting arbitration remotely. This will coincide with the FLAGS AGM, at which five new FLAGS-trained arbitrators will be welcomed. The training will be led by three arbitrators from En

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