News

A young man who says he overslept and missed jury duty was sent to jail for 10 days by a furious judge. Deandre Somerville, 21, was summoned to his own court hearing after failing to show up for the civil trial where he was supposed to be a juror.

A commercial property landlord has been granted a court order requiring a tenant to leave the premises after a judge ruled that the notice to terminate the lease, which gave a period of just under six months, was valid under common law. A judge in the Court of Session upheld the landlord’s cla

A number of former judges have condemned the suggestion endorsed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that judicial candidates be vetted by Parliament in a US-style process. The suggestion in the House of Commons last week by the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox QC that “there may very well need to be

The Scottish Parliament's Local Government and Communities Committee has given its backing to a bill which proposes the first major reform of business rates in Scotland for decades. The committee says a clear majority of organisations from local government, to business and the third sector support t

A majority of Scots want to see tighter controls on the use and sale of fireworks, a poll has found. A YouGov survey commissioned by the Scottish government and involving a representative sample of the Scottish population showed 71 per cent of adults supported tighter controls on the sale of firewor

More than 10,000 people living in Great Britain and Northern Ireland have applied for an Irish passport every month this year so far, new figures show. A total of 85,517 passport applications were received in the year to 31 August 2019, including 36,274 from Great Britain and 49,243 from Northern Ir

Holyrood’s Justice Sub-Committee on Policing has launched a new inquiry into the use of facial recognition technology. MSPs are keen to find out more about police use and future plans in relation to this fast-evolving tool, which is becoming increasingly prevalent.

New legislation banning the smacking of children needs to be supported by a comprehensive public education and awareness campaign, according to the Law Society of Scotland.  The Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill passed by the Scottish Parliament yesterday abolishes t

Arbroath Courthouse will be opened next week to give locals a chance to have their say on its future, The Courier reports. Arbroath Courthouse Community Trust (ACCT) is bidding to take over the building, which has been closed since 2014, and is supporting fundraising applications to a range of chari

Pictured(L-R): Emma Gray, Gemma Ambrosini and Scott Williamson A University of Dundee student studying for a career in law has been awarded the annual Ken Scott Bursary by Blackadders.

Aberdeen University School of Law is hosting a free workshop on neuroscientific evidence in criminal cases. In recent years neuroscience has added to our understanding of human behaviour and these developments are likely to impact increasingly upon the criminal justice system. This workshop will pro

Lawyer and author Willie McIntyre was highly impressed with advocate Stephen O'Rourke's debut novel. A launch event is being held for the book at Waterstones in Edinburgh on November 7 and will be chaired by Murdo MacLeod QC. One third of royalties from the sale of the book in the UK will go to

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Northern Ireland abortion law found to breach human rights | BBC News

The former head of a global law firm has been jailed for a month after paying to rig his daughter's college entrance exam. Gordon Caplan, 53, who resigned as co-chairman of Willkie, Farr and Gallagher after his arrest, is the latest parent convicted in the college admissions bribery scandal sweeping

A severely disabled man who was sentenced to one year and eight months’ imprisonment after being convicted of sexual offences against children has successfully appealed against a sheriff’s decision to impose a custodial sentence. The appellant “RC”, who was born with spina bi