Opinion

David J Black discerns traces of Scotland in America. See part one here. Alasdair Gray was the quintessential Glasgow author. The city is imprinted on his text, albeit with a hint of his idiosyncratic urban metaphysic. With a grid street plan and a wise-cracking populace well seasoned with the desce

Choices, choices, always choices. On February 25th it was between an event in Edinburgh’s Usher Hall marking the third anniversary of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, or a ‘Gray Day’ in Glasgow’s Oran Mohr marking the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Scotland&r

In a bid to speed up the global pace of achieving gender equality, this year’s theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) is ‘Accelerate Action’, write Emma Brown and Megan McNicoll. Part of the campaign is encouraging individuals to step forward in solidarity and "strike the

As AI develops further and is used more and more by professionals, there are questions over the extent of its use and if it can entirely replace some roles, or if it should instead be limited to assisting human expertise only. One such example of this is mediation, writes Nicole Kelly. Mediation is

Graham Johnston and Elizabeth McFarlane reflect on 25 years of the Family Court in Glasgow.  The introduction of divorce into the Sheriff Court in 1984 had a dramatic effect on the number of ordinary civil cases in the court. The sudden inflow of divorce cases (something in the region of 13,000

Elise Marshall considers a recent case from Singapore and how it might have been affected by AI.  The term “artificial intelligence” (AI) can be used to refer to advanced computer systems that perform tasks requiring human intelligence, such as problem-solving, pattern recognition,

Ewan Kennedy explores the connections between our national bard and our other national language. In Ayrshire, Gaelic had already largely died out before Burns was born in 1759. His Jacobite father had North East ancestry and didn’t have the language. While the Ayrshire Scots that Burns spoke i

New moveable property reforms are due to come into force in Scotland in April, brought about in response to widespread concerns that the current legal framework was outdated and inhibited economic growth, writes Ahsan Mustafa. The Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 was enacted on 13 June

Statue of Burns in Dumfries town centre, unveiled in 1882. David J Black reminds us just how famous Burns was. See part one here.

Liam McKay explains why the Scottish construction sector may be less affected by a ruling south of the Border. A recent decision by the High Court of England and Wales regarding construction contracts may not hold true in Scotland.

Musing over the haggis, coaxed down with a friendly single malt, David J Black shares his thoughts on why it is that so many Scots have a bizarre love-hate relationship with that man from Ayrshire. Robert Burns is, by a long way, the most celebrated poet in the world. His January 25 birthday feast i

Tenants and landlords alike may be interested in the Leases (Automatic Continuation etc.) (Scotland) Bill, introduced to the Scottish Parliament last month, write Donna Strong and David Bryden. The aim of this proposed new legislation is to "improve, simplify and update" aspects of the law of commer

Employment law claims in the UK are on the rise, and both organisations and tribunals are finding it challenging to cope with the growing volume of cases, write Elouisa Crichton and Amy Ross-Sercombe. Ministry of Justice figures show that whistleblowing claims – where individuals say they were

Richard McMeeken and Robin Mackintosh discuss an important new delict case. On 28 January 2025, Lord Clark issued his opinion in Biffa Waste Services Limited v Scottish Ministers. Biffa contends that the Scottish government owed it (and failed to uphold) a duty of care in respect of its positio

John Sturrock KC explains how Scotland's outgoing senior judges were instrumental in the creation of the Faculty’s training programme three decades ago. This week marks the retirement of Scotland’s two most senior judges, Lord Carloway, the Lord President, and Lady Dorrian, the Lord Just