Scottish Law Commission

Lady Paton will be retiring as chair of the Scottish Law Commission on 31 December, having served in the role for seven years. She was the lead commissioner for the damages and homicide projects, both of which reported in the last year, and has contributed to many other commission projects.

The Scottish Law Commission has published a report that examines a proposal to introduce compulsory owners’ associations for tenements. A tenement is any building made up of flats or otherwise divided horizontally into sections. This definition includes traditional Victorian tenements, modern

Roisin Higgins KC has been appointed to the Scottish Law Commission for a five-year term. Ms Higgins was called to the Scottish bar in 2000 and took silk in 2015. Her practice has focused on commercial, property, intellectual property and construction law disputes, with many years' experience leadin

The Scottish Law Commission has today published its report on updating the law on the mental element in homicide including a draft Homicide (Scotland) Bill. The report notes criticisms which have been made of the current common-law-based Scots law governing murder and culpable homicide; refers to ho

The Scottish Law Commission is holding a hybrid conference on Friday at Edinburgh Law School to mark its 60th anniversary. Entitled “Law Reform: Shaping Society”, the conference is a unique and timely opportunity to critically reflect on the value and challenges of law reform including t

The Scottish Law Commission’s annual report has been published. The 2024 report outlines progress on the commission’s law reform work during 2024. The commission is currently part way through its eleventh programme of law reform which covers the period from 2023 to 2027.

The Scottish Law Commission has published a new report recommending repeal of the Tenancy of Shops (Scotland) Act 1949. If a tenant of a “shop” is unable to obtain renewal of the lease from the landlord, they may instead apply for renewal to the court under the 1949 Act. A “shop&rd

Professor Gillian Black has been reappointed as a commissioner of the Scottish Law Commission. Professor Black has held a ministerial appointment as commissioner of the Scottish Law Commission since 22 April 2020. 

The Damages (Scotland) Bill, appended to the recently published Scottish Law Commission Report on Damages for Personal Injury, contains some important proposed reforms which are intended to modernise Scots law and resolve certain difficulties, writes Lady Paton. The report recommends the amendment o

The Scottish Law Commission has published a discussion paper reviewing the civil remedies available for domestic abuse in Scotland and seeks views on a proposed delict of domestic abuse. Sixty-one per cent of the incidents of domestic abuse recorded in 2022 to 2023 did not involve criminal conduct.

Views on the Scottish Law Commission's report on the review of contract law are being sought. The commission reported in March 2018 on a review of contract law dealing with the topics of formation, interpretation, remedies for breach and penalty clauses.

Professor Frankie McCarthy has been re-appointed as a commissioner of the Scottish Law Commission for three years. A professor of private law at the University of Glasgow, she has been in post first as a lecturer, then a senior lecturer, since 2007.

Thousands of retail businesses, cafes, pubs, takeaways, hairdressers, wholesale, and distribution centres lease their premises. What happens as the lease comes to an end? Can it be renewed? If not, how much time should the tenant have to find suitable alternative premises? These questions, and other

The Scottish Law Commission has published its discussion paper consulting on reform of the law of the tenement. A tenement is any building made up of at least two flats divided from each other horizontally and intended to be in separate ownership. Modern apartment buildings, high flats and converted

The Scottish Law Commission’s annual report for 2023 has been published. The report outlines progress on the commission’s law reform work during 2023. It explains the commission’s work to promote law reform, notes the implementation to date of the commission’s recommendations