Licence to Chill – Is the obsession with alcohol legislation in Scotland getting out of hand?

May 11, 2015

Yet another – “Bill to make provision for reducing and dealing with the abuse of alcohol; to amend the legislation in relation to applications for, and to vary, licences for the sale of alcohol; and for connected purposes.”- is making it’s way through the Scottish parliament. This is the sixth piece of primary legislation relating […]

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Should there be a Statutory Defence for Crimes Committed by Victims of Human Trafficking?

April 7, 2015

Proposed human trafficking laws for Scotland have caused a great deal of discussion and controversy, since the introduction of a bill to address current deficiencies in the law. This issue concerns whether there should be a statutory defence for those who are victims of trafficking but find themselves committing crimes as a result of their […]

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Sorry, Not Sorry – Will the Apologies (Scotland) Bill encourage more parties to settle faster?

March 27, 2015

The recently introduced Apologies (Scotland) Bill, proposed as a member’s bill in the Scottish Parliament by Margaret Mitchell MSP aims to introduce a statutory, evidentiary rule that apologies cannot be used as admissions of liability. The idea behind the bill is to address cases that ‘are not about the money’ where what clients are really […]

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Counterparts and Delivery in Scotland– A New Era for Document Execution

March 12, 2015

The Legal Writings (Counterparts and Delivery) (Scotland) Bill has now been passed. This piece of legislation allows the execution in counterpart of formal documents and contracts, and will also permit them to become legally effective by electronic delivery. The legislation is only seven sections long, but it is anticipated it will have great impact on […]

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Could Employment Law be Devolved to Scotland?

February 27, 2015

In recent Parliamentary debate, the Scottish Government have called for full devolution of employment law making powers to Scotland. This comes as a rise in unfair working practices and an alleged failure by Westminster to tackle these problems. This post looks at the difficulties faced by Scottish workers and how proposed changes to the law […]

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Scots Property Law, Souvenir Plot Ownership & Social Media at its Best

February 15, 2015

It’s one of the best examples of the Scottish legal profession (and indeed other lawyers from around the world) using social media to come together to clarify a point of law and shine light on misleading marketing. What happened? “If you do not understand how land can be sold in Scotland, ask a Scottish lawyer” […]

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The End of Early Release for Prisoners in Scotland – A Fairer Administration of Justice?

February 14, 2015

Long-term prisoners in Scotland will no longer be up for automatic early release after serving two thirds of their sentence. First minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the change to the current criminal justice system for automatic early release of all prisoners serving more than four years. It was stated that where a parole board deemed it […]

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Greater Number of Scottish Court Cases To be Filmed – Will this be beneficial?

January 30, 2015

New proposals outlined by Lord President, Lord Gill mean that filming of some court cases for TV could now be permitted. Lord Gill, Scotland’s most senior judge has stated he will issue guidance on the televising of court proceedings and that any approved filing will be “subject to robust, clear and comprehensive guidelines”. Lord Gill […]

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How Scottish Trust Deed Legislation Has Changed

January 29, 2015

It can be a very difficult and confusing time for many people who are struggling with debt as they search for the right solution to try to get out of debt as quickly as possible. Scottish Protected Trust Deeds are one option that residents in Scotland may wish to consider as a means to clear […]

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The Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill – Better Safe Than Sorry?

January 19, 2015

Both Police Scotland and legal experts have said that if the Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill is to be introduced in Scotland, greater clarity must be provided in order to prevent the risk of someone being prosecuted. The Assisted Suicide Bill would give people in Scotland whose lives have become insufferable as a result of a […]

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