News

Mediators have said they are ready to help resolve the mounting backlog of cases faced by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS). As soon as the lockdown began, Edinburgh Sheriff Court Mediation Service and Strathclyde Mediation Clinic started preparing for remote mediation.

The Scottish Arbitration Centre has confirmed that Brandon Malone, chairman of the centre, and Andrew Mackenzie, chief executive of the centre, are to remain in post to deliver ICCA Edinburgh on 1-4 February 2021.  Mr Malone was due to stand down as chairman of the board in June 2020. Mr Macken

Terra Firma is pleased to announce the next in its 2020 Vision series of webinars: 2020 Vision: Bringing Clarity the Lasting Effects of EU Law, will be broadcast on Zoom at 11am on Tuesday, 19 May 2020. Chaired by Michael Howlin QC, this 1 hour webinar will feature three talks covering a r

Most Northern Ireland barristers will be unable to sustain their practice if there is no increase in court business or additional government support by September, a new survey suggests. A survey carried out by The Bar of Northern Ireland in April, with responses from nearly two-thirds (60 per cent)

Two jury trials will resume at the Old Bailey this week as Crown Court cases restart, the Law Gazette reports. The criminal bar has warned, however, that normal service "remains weeks off".

A lawyer who resigned from the Maltese prosecutor's office to take up a position defending the businessman accused of ordering a journalist's murder is facing calls for an investigation. The family of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia have submitted a complaint to the legal regulator after l

A law student whose twin sister caused a car crash by sneezing has successfully sued her for over €100,000. Caitlin Douglas, 21, suffered whiplash-like injuries after her sister Brighid suffered a sudden sneezing fit and veered the car they were travelling in off the road.

May 8th 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of VE Day – the end of the Second World War in Europe. During the six long years of conflict, the WS Society kept a scrapbook of news about Writers to the Signet in service at home and abroad. James Hamilton introduces this poignant resource. One mornin

A man currently detained in a psychiatric hospital has been refused permission to appeal a decision of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission regarding the service he received from a solicitor. David Lilburn alleged that the solicitor had failed to communicate effectively with him and had fai

The Faculty of Advocates has supported reform of the law on moveable transactions, and an end to the use of “work-arounds”. Currently, it can be difficult for businesses in Scotland to raise money using moveable assets, ie property other than land and buildings such as plant, intellectua

Immigration experts have accused the Home Office of interfering with the independence of the judiciary after it queried the number of detainees being released during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter sent to the president of the First-Tier Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber last week, a se

New analysis suggests that gender recognition reform in a number of European jurisdictions has "taken place with minimal public scrutiny", according to MurrayBlackburnMackenzie. In an article published in the May 2020 edition of the Edinburgh Law Review, the policy analysis collective reviewed

Legislation that allows the common agricultural policy to be simplified and "improved" post-Brexit has passed stage 1, following a debate in the Scottish Parliament. The Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Bill creates powers to enable Scottish ministers to ensure CAP schemes can conti

Gilson Gray has appointed commercial property expert Mark Sabey as legal director in the firm’s Glasgow real estate division. Originally from London, he is an English-qualified solicitor with more than 17 years’ experience in commercial property, land management and renewables.

Ruth Croman, managing partner of Macnabs, has recently been accredited by FLAGS as a family law arbitrator. A well-respected family lawyer, she is a member of the Family Law Association, Consensus Collaboration Scotland and is accredited as a specialist in both family law and child law.