Opinion

The Scottish Law Commission (SLC) has proposed a major change to the rules that govern the termination of leases of commercial property in Scotland, giving landlords and tenants greater flexibility. In a new report the SLC concluded that the Scots law doctrine of “tacit relocation”

In October 2022, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI), David Neal, published an 84-page report which looked at various aspects of indefinite leave to remain applications (ILR) which were processed between September 2021 and February 2022. Given the Home Office pledge to

This week is Adoption Week 2022 in Scotland. It is an annual event, which celebrates adoption, and is funded by the Scottish government. The theme of this year's event is "adoption: the connection with past, present and future families." Adoption allows individuals a unique pathway to parenthood, an

Some 20 million casks lie maturing in warehouses across Scotland at any time. Currently security can be taken over these whisky casks either by a floating charge or by a common law pledge. But the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill (MTB) provides a new way of taking effective fixed security over

Samuel Mailer discusses the key role Scotland can play in development of the global renewable energy sector and how the north-east can capitalise on a new 'gold' rush. Once again, the eyes of the world are on the latest COP event. The location may have moved from Scotland to Egypt, but many headline

During Pro Bono Week UK, the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic is seeking to recruit new volunteer solicitors to help at its fortnightly Initial Advice Clinics. The Initial Advice Clinics, known internally as IACs, represent one of three advice streams provided by the student-led University of St

The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill does not solve existing tensions (which remain unresolved in the courts) between the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) and the Equality Act 2010 (“the EqA”), writes barrister Amanda Jones. The bill will introduce new conflicts with the EqA. T

On October 11, 2022, the Court of Session found against the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC), not for the first time. Yet the cost of this latest litigation will be borne not by its lay members but by the lawyers so inadequately represented by it, writes Andrew Stevenson. The SLCC is a cr

Lynne Gray and Lynne Moss consider the new rules that have been created by the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 (FPA(S)A 2022) and the offences and penalties for breach of these new rules. Bonfire Night is fast approaching: that time of year where the loud bangs of fireworks ca

Susie Mountain takes a look at a new report on cohabitation. The Scottish Law Commission has published its Report on Cohabitation. The report considers how the existing law governing the rights of cohabitants on separation might be revised and follows a lengthy consultation process with solicitors,

Liam McMonagle takes a look at the IP issues surrounding Amazon's $1bn show, The Rings of Power.  Like many people, I’ve enjoyed watching The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime after a hard day’s work. However, as an intellectual property (IP) lawyer, it’s hard not to recognise th

Simon Allison, in infancy fearful of homicidal maniac and doyen of the Dark Side, Darth Vader, now truly appreciates how the Sith lord – a force of personality – led from the front. As a five-year old boy, an older child doing the mouth-breathing noises of Darth Vader in the playground w

The UK and US have agreed to enhance their cooperation in implementing financial sanctions, in a bid to maximise the impact of the measures imposed on Russia, as well as to ease the compliance burden for business, writes Stacy Keen. The US and UK treasuries already work together to develop common ap

The new Tenant Protection Act falls short of expectations, argues the Legal Services Agency. In October 2022, the Scottish Parliament passed the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill (which has now received royal assent). This bill aims to introduce new measures to protect tenants in th

Jade Blair explains some of the differences in terminology used in Scotland and in England when awarding a successful party their expenses (or should that be costs). I find that the grammar fiend in my laptop has boldly underlined my use of “outwith” in the above heading indicating that