News

Owners of realistic sex dolls have been reminded to dispose of their erstwhile companions properly following a series of mistaken reports of dead bodies. Police in Germany responded to a report of a dead body in a Bavarian village last weekend only to find a remarkably convincing sex doll, The Times

Judges have been urged to abandon the phrase "beyond all reasonable doubt" as it apparently confuses juries. In new guidance for the judiciary they have been advised to tell jurors they should be “satisfied so that they are sure” a defendant is guilty before convicting.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has provided an update on its work to restore Sheriff Court civil business. In a statement it said that "while a return to business as usual is not viable in the near future, we do believe that with the cooperation of the legal profession we

The Inner House of the Court of Session has allowed an appeal on how affordable housing units subject to ‘golden share’ provisions ought to be valued for council tax purposes. The Assessor for Lothian Valuation Joint Board appealed a decision of the Lothian Valuation Appea

New legislation to give greater protection for victims of hate crime has been introduced at Holyrood. The Hate Crime Bill seeks to modernise, consolidate and extend existing hate crime law. Alongside the legislation being introduced, a working group will take forward work on a standalone offence of

A former diplomat has been charged with contempt of court over his blogs on the trial of Alex Salmond. Proceedings have been brought against Craig Murray, former ambassador to Uzbekistan, who attended two days of the trial in the public gallery and blogged on the proceedings.

Leading players in Scotland’s property industry have joined forces to demand government action to protect jobs and ensure the nation’s housing market can recover strongly from the coronavirus crisis. Representing a cross-section of the industry supporting the buying and selling of proper

A bill to limit private sector rent rises and to increase the availability of information available to tenants has been lodged by Scottish Labour’s housing spokesperson Pauline McNeill MSP. The Fair Rents Bill, dubbed the Mary Barbour Bill after the legendary rent strike organiser, was written

Lady Hale's memoirs are to be published next year and will detail how “a little girl from a little school in a little village in North Yorkshire became the most senior judge in the United Kingdom”. The first female president of the Supreme Court, who retired earlier this year, has signed

DWF Group plc has announced that it has secured an in-principle agreement to increase its committed revolving credit facilities and a relaxation of certain covenants with its lenders. This agreement will result in a secondary RCF of £15 million, in addition to the group's existing RCF of &poun

Ailie McGowan discusses the need for a digitalised court system. The coronavirus pandemic and current enforcement of ‘lockdown’ measures in Scotland has sharply brought into focus the need for a fully functioning digitalised court system.

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Coronavirus pandemic is becoming a human rights crisis, UN warns | The Guardian

A judge has ruled that a staggering €340,000 debt built up in three games of rock-paper-scissors is invalid. The debt had been recognised in a notarised contract and had led loser Edmund Mark Hooper to register a mortgage on his home.

The High Court of England and Wales has allowed an appeal by the Home Secretary against judicial review proceedings challenging the lawfulness of provisions under the Immigration Act 2014 preventing landlords in the private sector from letting to irregular immigrants. The application was first broug

Scotland’s £18 billion housing market will experience two bouncebacks when the country emerges from lockdown, Scottish Building Society chief executive Paul Denton has forecast. Mr Denton said the sector has been hit by government stay-at-home measures for agents, surveyors and pros