Archive for the ‘Family Law’ Category
Friday, September 14th, 2007
First minister Alex Salmond has hinted at possible changes to the Scottish judicial system, including the ‘double jeopardy’ law.
The principle allows suspects to be tried for the same crime twice and Mr Salmond stated in first minister’s questions that he would address the issue, but careful consideration was needed and that there should be no "knee-jerk" alterations to laws.
Mr Salmond added that there were a number of potential changes in Scotland’s legal system that could be considered.
Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Annabel Goldie told the Courier: "This will mean that victims of serious crime in Scotland – and their families – will have access to the same level of justice as currently available in England and Wales, which they have been denied for the past four years."
It was recently reported that calls for reform of the Scotland’s trial system were made in a report by retired high court judge Lord Coulsfield.
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Thursday, September 13th, 2007
A report by a retired high court judge has called for changes to be made to Scotland’s trial system, it has been reported.
The paper, by Lord Coulsfield, appeals for improvements to the system to be made through legislation.
New policy was called for in order to clarify the legal requirements of disclosing information held by the Crown – that may clear an individual accused of a crime – to the defendant in question.
Lord Coulsfield commented: "I hope that this report will itself help to promote the clarity and security that the system of disclosure needs, as no doubt will future decisions of the higher courts."
Scotland’s Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini stated that the report marks a "significant step" towards the level of clarity required in this particular area of law.
In other news, reform of the ways in which consumers bid for houses in Scotland was recently called for by MSP Dr Bill Wilson.
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Tuesday, August 28th, 2007
John MacKinnon, president of the Law Society Scotland, has announced that he has relinquished the post in a move expected to be effective immediately.
Mr MacKinnon made his announcement last night, explaining that the pressures of the high profile job combined with his role as a partner in a Fraserborough law firm were beyond his capacity.
Richard Henderson, currently vice-president of the society, has taken on the mantle with immediate effect, while the council is set to elect a replacement to his former role as soon as possible.
The presidential role is one of a figurehead, the Scotsman explains, representing the interests of some 10,000 legal practitioners in Scotland.
Issues which the society has addressed during his premiership include whether to allow major retailers to provide basic legal services and the creation of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, intended to increase confidence among the public in the complaints handling process.
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Tuesday, July 31st, 2007
A re-evaluation of the legal system in Scotland is set to be recommended to the Scottish executive by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), it has emerged today.
The Scotsman reports that the OFT intends to call on the executive to open up the sector to greater competition, allowing high street names such as Asda, Tesco and major banks to enter the legal services market.
In return the executive has committed itself to replying to the OFT’s applications within three months.
Kyla Brand, representative for the OFT in Scotland, remarks: "We are asking that there should be clear progress on this. There should be some policy statement by the end of the year."
Ms Brand added that if the recommendations were accepted in full it would signal the complete deregulation of the sector but added that the mode of implementation remained to be settled upon.
The Scotland branch of the OFT opened in mid-March this year in a move intended to strengthen links with Scottish consumers, businesses and policymakers.
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Friday, July 13th, 2007
Scottish citizens neglecting to pay fines levied for various offences will be obliged to undertake "hard labour" if they cannot pay, it has been suggested this week.
Yesterday Kenny MacAskill, justice minister at Holyrood, asserted that the 6,000 defaulters currently being given prison sentences each year would no longer serve such terms.
Instead, they will have assets such as cars seized or other financial sanctions taken, while those without the wherewithal to pay will be made to carry out labour in their community.
Mr MacAskill said: "We are seeking to ensure that community sentences will ensure repayment for the harm caused.
"Most of these minor offenders are a nuisance and have to be punished but many communities accept they don’t have to go to prison."
He added that the change would allow prisons to focus on "those who need to be punished", instead of using resources on those who had committed more minor offences.
Earlier this week the Scotsman reported that Mr MacAskill had committed to looking "sympathetically" at the case for increased police funding in Edinburgh.
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Monday, June 25th, 2007
Former pupils of a residential school in Perthshire are taking action against Edinburgh City Council in response to a security lapse that has seen confidential files disappear.
Redgorton House School was an independent institution used by the council for young women with behavioural and emotional problems.
It was closed down in 2004 as a result of significant shortcomings identified in a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education, the Scotsman reports.
However, when the mansion building was placed on the market, confidential files and photos of former pupils were found to have been left behind – and since the sale they have disappeared.
Anne Guy, one ex-pupil at Redgorton, stumbled upon the issue while considering legal action on other failings of the former school.
"I requested my files four weeks ago – that was the first time I realised they were missing. I contacted the school but realised it had closed," she explains.
"It’s amazing no-one is taking responsibility for something that is very important."
Last week the Scotsman reported that a "rash" of legal challenges is predicted for the council from parents whose children are refused access to their favoured primary school.
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Wednesday, June 20th, 2007
A mother who filed a suit against the Child Support Agency (CSA) due to the "extreme financial hardship" she felt she suffered due to its incompetence has lost her case.
Denise Rowley, a divorced mother from Leeds, had tried to claim that the CSA owed her a duty of care and had been negligent in failing to obtain maintenance payments from her former husband.
In a case backed by Resolution, an association of family law solicitors, Ms Rowley took the CSA to court, claiming that it should be held responsible for the loss of her health, wealth and home.
However, three judges at the court of appeal found that the body did not owe a duty of care, in a move described as a "major blow" by the association.
"The failings of the CSA are legendary and it is astonishing therefore that the government has thus far been silent on its plans to recompense those failed by it," Kim Fellowes of Resolution’s CSA committee commented.
"For the last 14 years, thousands of children have been badly let down by the CSA."
The CSA has recently been replace by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC), which is planned to have more substantial powers to enforce maintenance payments from defaulters.
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Thursday, June 14th, 2007
A group of child welfare charities have made calls for the government to increase efforts to tackle child poverty, it has emerged.
The Child Poverty Action Group and NCH, the children’s charity, are calling for the issue to be central to the upcoming child maintenance and other payments bill, CAF online reports.
Part of the bill, announced last week, proposes replacing the Child Support Agency [CSA] with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC)
The new body is intended to have more substantial powers to enforce the payment of child maintenance by non-resident parents.
Proposed reforms include CMEC’s ability to electronically tag defaulters, impose curfews and confiscate passports.
The CSA has long been troubled by its lack of powers to require payment from defaulters, resulting in a backlog of more than 300,000 cases.
Secretary of state for work and pensions John Hutton said: "There are a small number of parents who seem to think that paying for their kids is something they can simply choose not to do. It isn’t.
"And these new powers would mean that non-payment brings real and lasting penalties."
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Monday, May 14th, 2007
A number of alterations made to legislation affecting family law in Scotland last year have resulted in "chaos" for the legal profession, it has been claimed.
The Scottish executive has been accused of failing to fulfil obligations to publicise the changes made to the law, the Herald reports.
Implemented in last spring, the implications of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 remain unfamiliar to much of the Scottish public, the Family Law Association(FLA) Scotland told the publication.
FLA chair Helen Hughes commented: "When a new law is introduced which potentially affects the lives of many, the executive has a responsibility to educate the public on the changes introduced."
She suggested that the changes to the law had not been well publicised despite the executive’s avowed commitment to ensuring public awareness.
"Most clients have no idea what their rights are", Ms Hughes added.
The act includes measures intended to extend the parental responsibilities and rights of unmarried fathers, as well as reducing the length of the separation period for divorce and increasing the rights of unmarried cohabiting couples.
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Friday, May 11th, 2007
The Child Support Agency (CSA) is being sued by a single mother who alleges she lost her home due to the "incompetence" of the organisation.
Considered to be a test case that could have implications for thousands of families, the action is being brought by mother-of-three Denise Rowley.
Following her divorce in 2000, Ms Rowley states that she was obliged to live with her family as she was unable to afford the upkeep of her former home without maintenance payments.
Left vacant, the property deteriorated and was subsequently sold at much less than its "real value", raising the question of whether the CSA owes a duty of care to those on whose behalf it claims maintenance.
The English family lawyers’ group Resolution has added its weight to her case because it considers the action "of such significance".
CSA services in Scotland are organised by the Scotland and North East England Business Unit based in Falkirk, one of six units across the UK that attempt to carry out child maintenance assessments for separated families.
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