Opinion

In the recent case of Jacqueline Shuttleton v Procurator Fiscal, Glasgow, the High Court of Justiciary clarified the its earlier dicta in Gubinas and Radavicius v HM Advocate in respect of the status of CCTV footage in criminal trials, writes David Cairns. The appellant was convicted of careless dri

In a landmark judgment, the Court of Appeal has unanimously agreed the Royal Opera House (ROH) Covent Garden failed to take reasonable steps to prevent injury to viola player Christopher Goldscheider during a 2012 rehearsal of the Wagner opera, Die Walkure. As a result of his injury, Mr Goldscheider

The Council of the EU this month gave final approval to the Copyright Directive – a highly controversial piece of legislation aimed at striking a fair balance between the profits made by internet platforms and the creatives whose content they make accessible to users. Although the rules are se

Scott Clair, solicitor at Balfour+Manson, explores how innovative processes can make dispute resolution quicker, easier and cheaper in the 21st century. ‘What is it going to cost? How long is it going to take?’ Almost every litigator will be familiar with hearing either or both questions

Ken Dalling, principal of Dalling Solicitors in Stirling and a member of both the Council and the Board of the Law Society of Scotland, writes on today's three per cent increase in fees for legal aid lawyers. So here we are. At long last we have arrived at a day which, frankly, I had given up all ho

Euan Smith, partner and corporate immigration specialist at Pinsent Masons, writes on a new Scottish-German initiative backed by the firm. The first Scottish-German Business Exchange Conference (SGBEC) was attended by high-profile business executives, civil servants and politicians and laid the foun

Jodi Gordon, partner at Road Traffic Accident Law (Scotland) LLP, makes the case for lengthy driving bans instead of prison sentences following road fatalities. Following the death of a loved one in a road traffic collision, how family members perceive justice to have been served varies dramatically

Laura Brennan, trainee solicitor at Govan Law Centre, explains the pitfalls of giving equity away to a quick home buy company in times of financial distress. Our recent Sheriff Appeal Court case of Santander -v- C emphasises the importance of homeowners seeking legal advice should their mortgage len

Given a number of Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accusations against key suppliers to the construction sector, Jamie Dunne from Brodies has looked into the issue in more detail. The Competition and Markets Authority has recently accused six key suppliers to the construction sector of anti-c

James Lloyd, partner at Harper Macleod, writes on how people are being caught out by the requirement for homeowners to remortgage or sell their property at the end of a trust deed to realise the capital. Scotland offers several statutory debt consolidation and payment schemes for those who find them

Alison McAteer, senior solicitor at Brodies LLP and president of Tomorrow’s FOIL (Forum of Insurance Lawyers), and Megan Lafferty, associate at Clyde & Co (Scotland LLP) and Scottish representative of Tomorrow's FOIL, write on the issues facing insurance lawyers in Scotland. In 2018, GDPR

Alyson Cowan, solicitor in the commercial real estate team at Morton Fraser, writes on the importance of limitation clauses in collateral warranties. The recently published judgment of O’Farrell J in Swansea Stadium Management Co. Ltd v Swansea City and County Council ([2018] EWHC 2192 (TCC))

Tracy Kirk makes the case for banning child smacking in Scotland. Should smacking a child be against the law? That’s the fierce debate reaching a vital stage in Scotland at present, where the Parliament’s Equalities Committee will announce on April 25 whether it will back legislation to

Eleanor Mannion and Laurie Anderson look back on the last 20 years of the minimum wage. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the official introduction of the National Minimum Wage in the United Kingdom. The concept, formally introduced in 1999, followed on from a century of development stemm

Brent Haywood looks at a case in which a student anti-abortion group was denied affiliation and how it availed itself of the Equality Act. In the field of human rights and equalities law the cases that grab the headlines are those where a judgment is delivered after a hard-fought legal battle in cou