News

The trial of a former Islamic militant has begun at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and marks the first time someone stands accused of persecution on the grounds of gender at the court. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud, 42, was transferred to the custody of the court from Mali m

Benjamin Bestgen discusses the death penalty in this week's jurisprudential primer. See his last one here. A few weeks ago an acquaintance (let’s call her Lea) witnessed an incident where teenagers had assaulted elderly people by deliberately coughing and spitting on them and yelling “CO

Police slapped partygoers with fines worth nearly €23,000 in total after an unusually large order from KFC raised suspicions. Ambulance workers who were at the restaurant by coincidence raised the alarm after two people ordered more than 20 meals in the early hours of the morning.

The new Dean of the Faculty of Advocates is Roddy Dunlop QC. Mr Dunlop was the sole nomination to succeed Gordon Jackson QC, who stepped down after four years in office.

An Aberdeen-based kilt shop has lost its challenge against the city council in respect of water ingress problems affecting its premises. McCalls Ltd raised the petition for judicial review of the failure by the road authority, Aberdeen City Council, to maintain Bridge Street, Aberdeen, whe

Scotland's student loans body used facial recognition technology to catch a fraudster who stole £5,500 in loans, The Times reports. The Students Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) used technology that is not even available to Police Scotland, which has placed a moratorium on its use amid human

Thorntons has announced four promotions in Edinburgh and two in Dundee. The three new associates are Joanne Clancy and Lauren Fettes from personal injury in Edinburgh and Neil Falconer from intellectual property in Edinburgh.

Morton Fraser has been appointed to deliver full-service legal representation to Historic Environment Scotland for the next two years, with two possible one year extensions, following a competitive tender. The exclusive contract will see Morton Fraser’s public sector team provide legal advice

Blanket bans on renting properties to people on housing benefit are unlawful and discriminatory, a judge in England has ruled. The case, heard at York County Court, involved a single mother who inquired about renting a two-bedroom property in the city, but was told her application would not be consi

The average daily prison population rose sharply in 2018-19 and 2019-20 despite fewer people being imprisoned, according to statistics published by the chief statistician today. Following several years of steady decline, the average daily population in Scotland’s prisons rose from 7,464 in 201

A man who was manufacturing improvised firearms known as ‘slam guns’ in his garden shed has been jailed for five years. Ricky Taylor’s home in Royston, Glasgow was searched as part of an intelligence-led operation on 14 February 2020.

The UK government has come under pressure from a Westminster committee to set out how it will facilitate "unfettered" trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain under the Brexit deal. In a new report, the Northern Ireland affairs committee said the UK's proposals for implementation of the Nort

Terra Firma is pleased to announce the next in our “2020 Vision” series of webinars: 2020 Vision: Bringing Clarity to Professional Practice in the Time of COVID-19, will be broadcast on Zoom at 11am on Monday 20 July 2020. At this event, chaired by Stephen O’Rourke QC,&nb

A virtual open day to give an insight into life at the Scottish bar has drawn wide praise as “a fantastic experience”. The event was aimed primarily at senior school pupils and university students, to show them what a career at the Faculty of Advocates could be like.

Russian officials have been accused of using "invisible ink" on valuable contracts to facilitate corruption and kickbacks. A councillor in Moscow has uploaded a video to social media which appears to show the key financial details on a housing contract simply disappearing when the paper is held near