Opinion

Alan McIntosh calls for an extension to emergency laws aimed at helping Scots who are struggling financially in the midst of the pandemic. As Scotland enters phase 3 of the route map to exit the lockdown, there is a danger of being seduced into believing the Scottish economy will bounce back an

Benjamin Bestgen considers 'mind-reading' technology and the law in his latest jurisprudential primer. Read the last one here. Imagine your annual review comes up and your supervisor presents you with a chart, depicting data collected by a little electroencephalogram (EEG) device built into the head

Scotland will struggle to reach its net zero carbon targets unless Holyrood takes a swift and stronger grip on planning policy surrounding the deployment of taller turbine models, as well as a permissive approach to repowering of first-generation onshore windfarms with the latest technology, writes&

As a sports-mad youngster with an obsession for TV show Ally McBeal, Jodi Gordon’s main ambition when she was growing up was to find a job that would allow her to combine her love for both. After studying at the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh and beginning her career at personal injury

In the first of his 'neurolaw' articles, Benjamin Bestgen looks at how the law might accommodate advances in cognitive technology. See his last primer here.  Humans are capable of fascinating feats of observation, empathy and intuition but we cannot read other people’s thoughts. Our thoug

Planning lawyer Ewan MacLeod provides detail on the Scottish government’s consultation on the future of Scottish Planning Policy and the removal of the current presumption in favour of sustainable development. In 2014, the Scottish government introduced a significant change to Scottish Plannin

As Scottish business faces one of the toughest-ever economic climates, employers may be questioning whether diversity and inclusion programmes – viewed by some as ‘nice to have’ rather than essential – should be abandoned, writes Alison Woods. With many employers facing huge

There is a real risk of unintended consequences from this noble attempt to provide greater clarity, transparency and consistency in hate crime law, writes Fred Mackintosh QC of Terra Firma Chambers. The Justice Committee’s call for views on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill close

Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) remain valid but the EU-US Privacy Shield has been struck down, explains Loretta Maxfield. On Thursday 16th July, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) made a landmark decision in Data Protection Commissioner v. Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems

A new Electronic Communications Code judgment is another wolf placed among the yearling sheep as far as mobile phone operators are concerned, writes Michael Upton. The Digital Economy Act 2017 amended the Communications Act 2003, so that from the end of 2017 the new Electronic Communications Code re

In the understandable tsunami of media coverage in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is easy to forget that, as matters stand, the transition period following the UK’s departure from the EU ends in less than six months’ time, writes Bruce Craig. Currently, the EU and the UK have a gl

Benjamin Bestgen discusses the death penalty in this week's jurisprudential primer. See his last one here. A few weeks ago an acquaintance (let’s call her Lea) witnessed an incident where teenagers had assaulted elderly people by deliberately coughing and spitting on them and yelling “CO

Last week, I made my first virtual appearance in the Appeal Court to conduct an appeal against conviction and sentence. Unlike other courts, virtual appearances are nothing new – the appellants in sentence appeals having been appearing by way of video link since 2013 – however this was t

Construction lawyer Lisa Dromgoole considers the parallels between Hearts and Partick Thistle’s legal battle with the SPFL and alternative dispute resolution in the building sector. It's not often that a construction lawyer has cause to consider the world of football, or not this construction

Dr John Macleod of Edinburgh Law School examines inaccuracy and the offside goals rule in light of a recent case in the Outer House. BAM TCP Atlantic Square Limited v BT plc [2020] CSOH 57 presents something approaching a full house of recent hot topics in conveyancing: interpretation of a deed of c