Paedophile life prisoners fail in legal challenge against decision to ban telephone calls between them
7 minutes A gay paedophile couple serving life sentences after being found guilty of murder have failed in a legal challenge against a decision by prison authorities to ban them from telephoning each other. Partners Charles O’Neill and William Lauchlan claimed they should be treated as “near relat
balfour+manson
balfour+manson
Balfour + Manson’s Fred Tyler retires after 45-year career
4 minutes One of Scotland’s leading legal experts on medical negligence has retired after more than 45 years. Fred Tyler, who spent his entire 45-year career with Balfour+Manson in Edinburgh, won a landmark ruling at the UK Supreme Court in 2015 for Nadine Montgomery.
Turkish national wins appeal for re-hearing of case to remain in UK with Scottish wife
7 minutes A Turkish national who was seeking leave to remain in the UK as the spouse of his Scottish wife has successfully appealed against the decision to refuse his application. TheInner House of the Court of Sessionruled that the First-tier Tribunal failed to make findings in fact about the app
MI5 agents authorised to commit serious crimes on British soil
4 minutes Agents for Britain’s security service are authorised to commit serious crimes, on British soil, without informing prosecutors, under a secretive MI5 policy, a court has been told. Reprieve, Privacy International, the Pat Finucane Centreand the Committee on the Administration of Justice a
Feature: Unequal Protection of Children (is no longer justifiable)
8 minutes Writing for Scottish Legal News, Scottish Conservative MSP Liam Kerr responds to colleague Gordon Lindhurust MSP's article in the SLN Annual Review on the proposed removal of the reasonable chastisem*nt defence. Recently my friend and colleague Gordon Lindhurst MSP expressed his surprise in an artic
Legal chiefs call on Turkey to release lawyers jailed in wake of failed coup
2 minutes President Erdogan Leaders of legal professions across Europe have called on Turkey to release more than 100 lawyers who were jailed in the wake of a failed coup against President Erdogan in 2016, The Brief reports.
Advocate General Wathelet: ‘Spouse’ includes same-sex spouse for purposes of free movement
4 minutes The term "spouse" includes a spouse of the same sex for the purposes of European free movement, even in member states whose laws do not provide for same-sex marriage, according to Advocate General Melchior Wathelet. Although member states are free to authorise marriage between persons of the same se
Scottish government’s information sharing provisions in Named Person scheme incompatible with Article 8 ECHR
7 minutes The Christian Institute and others’ appeal against the Scottish government’s Named Person scheme has been unanimously allowed by judges in the Supreme Court on the basis the information sharing provisions in Part 4 are incompatible with Article 8 ECHR — meaning the legislation will not be brou
Judicial review of Lord Advocate’s policy on assisted suicide refused
A disabled man who is seeking to end his own life but is “apprehensive” that anyone who assisted him to commit suicide would risk criminal prosecution has failed in a legal bid to force Scotland’s prosecution service to publish guidance on its policy. Gordon Ross, 66, who suffers from Parkinso
SLN Spotlight: Shami Chakrabarti
4 minutes Shami Chakrabarti This week's SLN Spotlight falls on Shami Chakrabarti (pictured), who has been director of Liberty since 2003. She was called to the English bar in 1994 and was a lawyer in the Home Office between 1996 and 2001. She will be discussing themes from her book On Liberty at a CPD-accredi
Sheriff refuses Lord Advocate’s application to extradite Slovakian man to serve sentence for ‘joy-riding’
5 minutes A Slovakian man wanted by authorities in his home country to serve a prison sentence for a “joy-riding” offence which occurred more than a decade ago will not be extradited. A sheriff ruled that it would be “oppressive” to return him given the passage of time since he committed the “relati
opinion
opinion
David J Black: How to burn down a book festival
13 minutes Narcissists of minor repute, for whom notoriety is more achievable than fame, have bitten the hand that feeds them in their latest attack – on the UK's book festivals. David J Black adduces evidence of their hypocrisy, among other things. They never seem to bother with the detail or consider t
ecocide
ecocide
A global surge in climate litigation: key cases and insights
9 minutes As global temperatures rise and the effects of climate change become more pronounced, countries around the world are witnessing a surge in climate-related litigation. Scottish Legal News delves into this growing trend, exploring key cases and shifts in global attitudes. The journey of international
arnot manderson
arnot manderson
Three new members for Arnot Manderson
4 minutes Arnot Manderson Advocates has welcomed Clara Smeaton, Neil Morrison and Eilish Lindsay to the stable following their admission to the Faculty of Advocates in calling ceremonies held today. This follows directly on from the success of three recent Better The Devil You Know seminars where the trio imp
our legal heritage
our legal heritage
Our Legal Heritage: A short lesson in how to damn with a hint of praise
7 minutes Death and taxes are inevitable, and following the former kindly obituaries may and often do follow but a recitation of platitudes was not always certain in earlier times, writesRobert Shiels. The death of Sir Archibald Alison in 1867 produced an obituary that must, surely, be seen as being not
