Bathgate v Technip [2023] CSIH: Broadening the Scope of Qualifying Settlement Agreements – Parklane Plowden Chambers

Posted March 13th, 2024 in chambers articles, contract of employment, employment, news, Scotland by sally

‘As all employment lawyers know, in order to protect them from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers, employees cannot ordinarily contract out of their employment rights. There are only two exceptions. They can do so in a contract of settlement made with the assistance of ACAS, known as a “COT3”, or they can do so in “qualifying settlement agreement”, but not otherwise.’

Full Story

Parklane Plowden Chambers, 12th February 2024

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

Scottish court rules UK government veto of gender recognition bill lawful – The Guardian

Posted December 8th, 2023 in bills, devolution, devolution issues, equality, gender, news, Scotland, transgender persons by michael

‘In a ruling that will disappoint LGBTQ+ campaigners and offers a boost to Rishi Sunak at the end of a difficult week, Lady Haldane rejected the Scottish government’s petition to rule the UK government’s section 35 veto – contained in the 1998 Scotland Act, which created the devolved parliament – as unlawful.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 8th December 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Safeguarding vulnerable clients: Guidance on best practice in England and Wales – Mills & Reeve

‘A recent case heard by the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal has highlighted the complexities around how solicitors interact with vulnerable clients, particularly in matters involving conflicts of interest, mental capacity, and undue influence. This case offers an opportunity for some cross-border analysis between England and Wales and consideration of what best practice looks like in such a situation.’

Full Story

Mills & Reeve, 20th November 2023

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Research Briefing: Reuse of graves – House of Commons Library

Posted October 20th, 2023 in burials and cremation, Law Commission, news, parliament, Scotland by tracey

‘This briefing paper considers reuse of graves as a means of addressing the problem of the shortage of available space for burial.’

Full Story

House of Commons Library, 16th October 2023

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Thomas Horsley: Managing the External Effects of Devolved Legislation: Virtual Representation, Self-Rule and the UK’s Territorial Constitution – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘The Scottish Government is presently seeking judicial review of the UK Government’s decision to block Royal Assent for the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill (GRRB) using s.35 of the Scotland Act 1998 (SA). The Court of Session’s decision, which may yet end up before the UK Supreme Court on appeal, is eagerly awaited, not least given the electricity of political debates over gender recognition and its reform in Scotland and elsewhere.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 5th October 2023

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

New Judgment: McCulloch and others (Appellants) v Forth Valley Health Board (Respondent) (Scotland) – UKSC Blog

Posted July 13th, 2023 in causation, medical treatment, medicines, negligence, news, Scotland, Supreme Court by sally

‘This case is concerned with the extent to which a doctor is required, under the duty of care owed to a patient, to inform the patient about alternative possible treatments to the one that is being recommended.’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 12th July 2023

Source: ukscblog.com

Case Preview: McCulloch and Ors v Forth Valley Health Board – UKSC Blog

‘In this post, Anna Walsh (Partner) and Nicole Ellerby (Associate) in CMS’ defendant medical malpractice team consider the awaited decision from the Supreme Court in the Scottish case of McCulloch and Ors v Forth Valley Health Board [2021] CSIH 21.’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 3rd July 2023

Source: ukscblog.com

Speech by the Master of the Rolls to the Law Society of Scotland – Courts & Tribunals Judiciary

‘Law and Technology Conference Online lecture, Wednesday 14 June 2023.’

Full speech

Courts & Tribunals Judiciary, 14th June 2023

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Opinion: Judith Ratcliffe – Journal of the Law Society Scotland

Posted May 26th, 2023 in documents, government departments, internet, local government, news, Scotland by tracey

‘In this age of drives to digital, we need, written into law, a right for every citizen in the United Kingdom to access Government and local authority services offline (on paper and over the counter)’

Full Story

Journal of the Law Society Scotland , 15th May 2023

Source: www.lawscot.org.uk

Scottish Prison Service faces first UK prosecution for corporate homicide – BBC News

Posted March 7th, 2023 in corporate manslaughter, news, prisons, prosecutions, Scotland by sally

‘Police have been told to investigate whether the Scottish Prison Service should be prosecuted over the death of a remand prisoner, the BBC can reveal.’

Full Story

BBC News, 7th March 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New Judgment: DCM (Optical Holdings) Ltd v Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Scotland) [2023] UKSC 7 – UKSC Blog

‘Under the Value Added Tax Act 1994 (the “VAT Act“), “newspapers” are “zero-rated”, meaning Value Added Tax (“VAT“) is not charged on them. The question in this case is whether, between 30 August 2010 – 4 December 2016 (the “relevant period“), zero-rating extended beyond print newspapers to digital editions of newspapers, such as editions for e-readers, tablets, smartphones and websites.’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 22nd February 2023

Source: ukscblog.com

Gordon Guthrie: Brown vs Dewar – The Labour Commission on the UK’s Future – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘With the publication of Labour’s Commission on the UK’s Future it is worth contrasting the approach that Gordon Brown and his colleagues have taken with the very successful devolutionary legacy of Donald Dewar.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 8th February 2023

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Case Comment: McCue (as guardian for Andrew McCue) v Glasgow City Council [2023] UKSC 1 – UKSC Blog

Posted February 2nd, 2023 in community care, disabled persons, news, Scotland, social services, Supreme Court by sally

‘In this post, Erin Crawley, a trainee solicitor in the Infrastructure, Construction and Energy Disputes team at CMS, comments on the case of McCue (as guardian for Andrew McCue) v Glasgow City Council [2023] UKSC 1.’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 2nd February 2023

Source: ukscblog.com

Case Comment: DCM (Optical Holdings) Ltd v Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2022] UKSC 26 – UKSC Blog

Posted January 24th, 2023 in amendments, news, repayment, Scotland, Supreme Court, taxation, time limits by sally

‘In this post, Neal Chandru, an Associate in the Tax team at CMS, comments on the case of DCM (Optical Holdings) Ltd (“DCM”) v Commissioners for his Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”) [2022] UKSC 26 – handed down on 12 October 2022.’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 23rd January 2023

Source: ukscblog.com

Gender row legal challenge likely to fail – judge – BBC News

Posted January 19th, 2023 in bills, birth certificates, devolution, equality, gender, news, Scotland, transgender persons by tracey

‘The Scottish government’s chances of winning a legal challenge over the gender reform row are “very low”, a former Supreme Court judge has said.’

Full Story

BBC News, 18th January 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rishi Sunak blocks Scotland’s gender recognition legislation – The Guardian

Posted January 17th, 2023 in bills, birth certificates, devolution, news, Scotland, transgender persons by sally

‘Rishi Sunak’s government has blocked legislation passed by the Scottish parliament that would make Scotland the first part of the UK to introduce a self-identification system for people who want to change gender.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 16th January 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

New Judgment: McCue (as guardian for Andrew McCue)(AP) v Glasgow City Council (Scotland) [2023] UKSC 1 – UKSC Blog

Posted January 12th, 2023 in community care, disabled persons, news, Scotland, social services, Supreme Court by sally

‘This appeal is concerned with the provision of community care services to disabled persons pursuant to the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (the “1968 Act”) and the charges made for such provision.’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 11th January 2023

Source: ukscblog.com

UK review of gender recognition list risks ‘trans travel ban’ – The Guardian

Posted January 11th, 2023 in bills, equality, gender, government departments, news, Scotland, transgender persons by sally

‘Rishi Sunak has been told he risks “re-toxifying” his government’s record on LGBTQ+ rights and introducing “an effective trans travel ban” after the equalities minister announced a review of countries whose process for changing gender on legal documents is recognised by the UK.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 10th January 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Mohamed Moussa: The ‘Absent Word’ Canon and Asymmetrical Sovereignty – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘The UK Supreme Court (UKSC) recently issued its unanimous judgment which found the draft Scottish Independence Referendum Bill to be outside the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. While the facts of this case are distinctively different from previous Scottish cases, a common theme remains in the Court’s insistence on ‘ordinary meaning of words’ as its ‘general approach to the interpretation of the Scotland Act’. According to such an approach, the Court prioritises ‘the language carefully chosen by the Parliamentary drafter and enacted by Parliament’ as ‘[t]he best way of ensuring a coherent, stable and workable outcome’. The purpose of this blog post is not to explore the facts of this particular case. Rather, it focuses on the UKSC’s repeated stress of textualism. A similarity is found in the Court’s textual interpretation of Section 28(7), which was understood to affirm the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty and served as the crux of its previous cases on devolution. The aim of the post is to show the questionable nature of the Court’s textual fidelity and highlight that it runs counter to foundational canons of interpretation. For space constraints, my argument focuses mainly on Section 21 from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill Reference (UNCRC Incorporation Bill case) after briefly discussing section 17 of the Scottish Legal Continuity Bill.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 20th December 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Chris Himsworth: Referendum Bill Consequentials – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘At paras 56-57 of their judgment, the court in Reference by the Lord Advocate of devolution issues ([2022] UKSC 31) declared: “The central issue is whether legislation for a referendum on Scottish independence would relate to a reserved matter…. The critical question is accordingly whether the proposed Bill would relate to the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England or the Parliament of the United Kingdom”.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 29th November 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org