Wicked and Reckless: Why Oscar Pistorious Would have been Convicted of Murder if Tried in Scotland

September 15, 2014

On Thursday 11 September 2014 Judge Thokozile Masipa determined that Oscar Pistorius was not guilty of premeditated murder. It was then up to the judge to decide between “dollus eventualis” (common murder), culpable homicide or acquittal – but how? (And update at 21 October 2014: Pistorius given five years in jail and three-year suspended sentence […]

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Licence and Liability – The Importance of Due Diligence for Scottish Companies

September 10, 2014

Recent case law has highlighted the importance for Scottish licence holders to exercise due diligence to ensure they have done everything possible to stop licensing offences being committed. Under Scots law, licence holders may be liable for the mistakes of employees, or for the deception of underage customers if they are unable to prove that […]

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CSR and the Law – Why Companies Should Only Help Themselves

September 3, 2014

“Consumers are demanding more than ‘product’ from their favorite brands. Employees are choosing to work for companies with strong values. Shareholders are more inclined to invest in businesses with outstanding corporate reputations. Quite simply, being socially responsible is not only the right thing to do; it can distinguish a company from its industry peers.” Starbucks […]

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Competition Law in an Independent Scotland

August 14, 2014

This post considers such implication and in particular whether Scotland would benefit in being independent from UK competition regulation, or whether the CMA should be relied upon to investigate all cross border competition cases under EU law. The Scottish Government has stated their intentions to create a single authority responsible for both competition enforcement and […]

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Donoghue v Stevenson: In Legal Cartoon Form

November 4, 2013

Over 80 years since the judgment, Donoghue v Stevenson has remained one of the most important cases in delict/tort for Scots Law and indeed for the laws of many countries around the world. Today The Utterant published a humorous legal cartoon with a slight variation on the facts to our sister site YouBlawg, republished below […]

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PIP implants: experts raise further concerns

June 5, 2013

A year and a half since the PIP breast implant scandal first broke the women affected are still being given conflicting advice regarding the potential long term health effects of the industrial grade silicone used to fill the implants. In February 2013, the Department of Health and the MHRA had published their findings after the […]

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Baby ashes – a national disgrace

June 3, 2013

One of the most important parts of the grieving process is to bury your loved one or scatter their ashes in a place meaningful to the family – a place where they can visit and reflect on their cherished memories. This is especially so when the time with the deceased was very limited. Therefore it’s […]

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Nice people tough lawyers

April 30, 2013

At Thompsons we like to think of ourselves as being nice people but tough lawyers. Earlier this week however I sat through a meeting which would have tested even the toughest of lawyers’ ability not to show their more sensitive side. The meeting in question involved the bereaved parents who have been embroiled in the […]

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Employee or Office-holder. Contract or not. Police Pension reform…

April 21, 2013

Police officers, that is the rank and file, do not have contracts of employment as they hold ‘office’. Employees as I understand it, must have contracts of employment to protect both parties. Recent proposed changes to the Police Pension Scheme and the intention of government to repeal Section 2 of their Pension Regulations is causing […]

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Civil justice is no place for playing party politics

March 26, 2013

A couple of weeks ago we were given a stark reminder as to the pivotal role the House of Lords can still play in democracy. Wednesday 6th March 2013 was a key day in British politics, but also one which exposed the danger in politicising fundamental rights through playing party politics with the civil justice […]

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