Opinion

The Scottish Sentencing Council has recently produced a report advocating shorter prison sentences even for some serious offences. There would be more emphasis on community-based disposals, such as community payback orders which used to be called community service orders. The report suggest the poss

Stefanie Johnston, Iain Franklin and Imogen Webb from Ince & Co's London and Scotland offices consider TUI Ltd v Griffiths (Supreme Court Appeal from [2021] EWCA Civ 1442), given its implications for UK-wide practice. The Supreme Court has heard an important case on the courts’ approach to

It could have been a rerun of Clochemerle, that droll 1970s Simpson and Galton series about the hotly disputed provision of a public pissoir in an ultra respectable French village. In 2021 Miranda Dickson inherited her three story townhouse in Edinburgh’s Drummond Place from her parents, Ian a

Chris Rae discusses the potential for Scotland to replicate Norway's success in the data centre market by leveraging renewable energy sources, reusing waste heat, attracting investors, and addressing infrastructure and planning barriers to drive economic growth and enhance environmental sustainabili

Pride month is about acceptance, equality and celebrating the work of LGBTQ+ people. Employers should take steps to implement LGBTQ+ initiatives all year round and not just one month of the year. However, Pride month is a good time for employers to consider the employment law issues affecting LGBTQ+

Cash is the obvious asset that gets ‘misappropriated’ and is certainly the most common when we’re investigating wrongdoing or fraud in an organisation. But it’s not always simply cash that gets taken when a business gets defrauded, sometimes the assets are a lot more interest

Dr Michael Foran responds to a critique of his commentary on some upcoming cases. Robin White has kindly offered a response to a recent article I wrote about two upcoming cases concerning the meaning of sex within the Equality Act. I welcome the caution concerning the dangers of analysing the law fr

The recent arrest of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon predictably provoked widespread discussion of the Contempt of Court Act – as it applies in Scotland, writes Thomas Ross KC. It came as a surprise to many that the provisions of the Act were triggered so early in the process. This &ndas

Barrister Robin White, of Old Square Chambers, responds to a recent article on the Equality Act. I read with interest the article Equality Act and sex – important Scottish cases on the horizon by Dr Michael Foran of Glasgow University. Some of his analysis I agree with but much I disagree with

Morgiane Noel explores the ethical issues arising from the use of artificial intelligence in the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become such a part of our daily lives that it’s hard to avoid – even if we might not recognise it. While ChatGPT and the use of algor

Gavin Pearson, managing director and head of Quantuma’s forensic accounting & investigations team, sets out a number of areas that may assist lawyers in the drafting of expert determination clauses. There will be contrasting views as to how effective Expert Determination is as a form of di

Douglas Strang and Kate Ross explain the protections the Equality Act 2010 provides for non-binary people. The Act provides protection to transgender people against discrimination, harassment, and victimisation in the workplace. Until the decision of the Employment Tribunal in Taylor v Jaguar L

Becoming a parent is one of the most significant events in many people’s lives and for some they may choose to consider the option of surrogacy. Surrogacy is when a woman carries and gives birth to a baby for another person or couple, known as the “intended parent(s)”. There are tw

Benjamin Bestgen and Alexander Jeuk discuss the practicalities of rebalancing the scales of justice making the legal system accessible to everyone. The complaint that the law tends to favour the wealthy and powerful while being much less available to the impecunious is not new. And there is much evi

The next few months are set to see two important cases making their way through the Court of Session, both of which concern the meaning of sex within the Equality Act. The first is the appeal of Petition of for Women Scotland [2022] CSOH 90 and the decision of Lady Haldane that sex means sex as modi