Opinion

Benjamin Bestgen this week contrasts the letter of the law with its spirit. See his last jurisprudential primer here.  As a species, humans value play, sports and games. For example, probably all of us know somebody who enjoys cardgames, boardgames, videogames or various kinds of table-top game

This week Benjamin Bestgen looks at the legalities surrounding certain extracurricular activities. See last week's here. Every law student in the UK has probably heard of R v Brown [1993] UKHL 19 during their studies. The case concerned a group of men who had occasionally gathered for consensual, bu

Dr Thomas Muinzer of Aberdeen University writes about a complaint lodged with the European Commission over the climate emergency following the UK government's failure to respond to a request for the expansion of "greenhouse gas" in law. It has been outlined recently in SLN that the Scottish Climate

As the Financial Conduct Authority investigation into the 2018 Carillion case concludes with the watchdog intending to take further action against its directors, Ramsay Hall details how the case is a salutary lesson for the industry. Interaction with health, safety and environmental regulators

Caroline Gillespie considers proposed additional powers to tackle domestic abuse and recent statistics on charges for, and prosecution of, domestic abuse. Scotland’s police, courts and social landlords may soon be given additional powers to protect victims of domestic abuse. The Domestic Abuse

Gareth Hale and Louise McDaid write about Briggs of Burton Plc v Doosan Babcock Limited, in which they acted for the defender. Rectification is a remedy in Scots law that enables a document which does not accurately reflect the common intention of the parties to be altered retrospectively by th

"If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out" and if he breaks another's bone, his shall be broken. So states Hammurabi's Code, an ancient exemplar of the precept of lex talionis. Why is revenge so compelling? Benjamin Bestgen explains all. See his last jurisprudential primer h

Richard Douglas-Home looks at proposed changes to the capital gains tax regime. The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is an independent office of the Treasury, set up in 2010 to provide advice to the government on simplifying the UK tax system. It will produce reports either on its own initiative o

Graeme Di Rollo demystifies copyright enforcement. Keeping track of who is using your copyright-protected content online can be a daunting task.

Dr Kath Murray, Lucy Hunter Blackburn and Lisa Mackenzie of MurrayBlackburnMackenzie comment on proposed changes to a bill approaching stage three at Holyrood. This week an important bill will reach its final stage in the Scottish Parliament. The Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences

"Oh, sinnerman, where you gonna run to? Sinnerman where you gonna run to?" sang Nina Simone of those who flee judgement. But even the ends of the Earth were no safe haven for Adolf Eichmann. Benjamin Bestgen tells the tale this week of the most famous rogue Nazi and his dramatic rendition to th

Maya Allen reflects on her traineeship in this difficult year and the adjustments she has had to make. When I secured my legal traineeship, walking into an empty office with a mask on was not quite how I imagined my first day at a law firm. I’d been looking forward to my first day for so long

Gordon Lindhurst examines a recent US judgment on religious meetings during the pandemic, finding that it parallels European cases. In granting injunctive relief against fixed limits on the number of attendees allowed at religious services due to Covid, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in Roman Ca

Martin Devine discusses the evolution of the office space in the wake of Covid-19. It’s almost as hotly contested as the lockdown v no lockdown debate – will the UK ever return to 9-5 office working or is trillions of sq ft of prime office space doomed to lie empty?

Vick Ward discusses proposed changes to the role of Companies House. The government’s recent response to the consultation on options to enhance the role of Companies House and increase the transparency of UK corporate entities focused on a plan to reform the powers Companies House has in regar