Opinion

The Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill is currently before the Scottish Parliament. The bill seeks to preserve on a permanent basis a number of changes to the law that were introduced temporarily to address the challenges of the pandemic. Many of these changes deal with administrative

David J Black continues to investigate the biggest medical scandal of the 21st century. Read part one here and see also his series from last year for SLN. October the 29th 2021 was something of a red-letter day for those who believed the psychiatric biopsychosocial (BPS) model had, fo

In October 2021 the Town and Country Planning (Local Place Plans) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 were laid before the Scottish Parliament. The background to these regulations is found in Section 14 of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019. This amended the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 to pe

The last rites are being read to the traditional legal firm. While the rise of the nationals and global firms will carry on for a while yet, many small and medium Scottish firms will face their day of reckoning over the coming decade.

Melanie Phillips may not be everyone’s favourite journalist or radio opinion former but who could fail to share her astonishment in The Times at the outcome of one of the greatest corporate injustices of our time? Inexplicably, no-one, it seems, was responsible for the relentless persecution a

David Conlan Smyth SC, Anna Bazarchina BL, William Morrin BL and Patrick Fitzgerald BL – members of the EU Bar Association of Ireland – unpick the legal hurdles and steps involved in Ukraine becoming a member state of the European Union. On 28 February 2022, just four days after being in

With the Scottish and UK governments having relaxed their “work from home wherever possible” message, it begs the question of what the return to the office will look like for many, writes Laura McClinton. We have previously written about the likelihood of flexible working requests.

Sandra Cassels provides an overview of the approach to cladding in Scotland and addresses three discrete points: building Regulations, RICS Guidance and rights of recourse for owners/government assistance. The fatal Garnock Court tower block fire in 1999 contributed to the building standards sy

For the final article in Shepherd and Wedderburn's LGBT+ History Month series on ‘Politics in Art: The Arc is Long’, Zachary Stewart discusses his favourite TV series, Schitt’s Creek. Many may view this choice as dubious at first but the subtlety of this show’s approach

In Scotland, as in England, claims must be brought to court before they prescribe. Until recently, the law in this area was believed to be reasonably well understood. An obligation to make reparation for loss or damage must be brought within five years of the obligation becoming enforceable. If a br

The publishing industry breathes a collective sigh of relief as UK government maintains UK’s copyright exhaustion regime – for now at least, writes Lauren McFarlane. In the summer of 2021, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) launched a widely publicised public consultation into U

A new report from Transparency International (TI) suggests the fight against global corruption has stalled, with more than 80 per cent of countries making little or no progress over the last decade. According to the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks 180 countries and territories b

Dr Aurel Sari, director of the University of Exeter’s Centre for International Law and fellow of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe and Allied Rapid Reaction Corps comments on the legal aspects of the invasion of Ukraine. Much about Russia’s intervention in Ukraine is unclear,

Innes Clark writes about a case in which the Court of Appeal held that a worker was entitled to holiday pay going back through his whole period of employment. Having succeeded in persuading the Supreme Court that he was a worker, the claimant in Smith v Pimlico Plumbers had less success when his cla

The recent changes to the Highway Code have been widely reported. However, the initial worries of chaos on UK roads, gridlock as city traffic is paralysed by cyclists hogging the roads, or pedestrians making a dive in front of traffic in crash for cash bids have all gone unfounded. Quite frankly, no