Jonathan Mitchell QC

Historically, only Scottish solicitors and advocates have had rights to conduct litigation, and rights of audience, in Scottish courts. European lawyers have some limited rights, which have not proved important in practice. Since sections 25 to 29 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 came into force in March 2007, however, it has been possible for members of other bodies to seek both rights of litigation and rights of audience. The Lord President’s Guide On Making An Application gives a full account of the procedure. An application must be accompanied by a draft scheme indicating the code of conduct required of members, a complaints procedure, disciplinary procedures and sanctions. The Lord President and Scottish Ministers must both approve the scheme before it can come into effect, and have powers to withdraw rights if they feel that the body is in breach of that scheme. There have been significant differences of opinion as to the approach to such applications and as to the threshold to be applied. Continue Reading »

Scottish local authorities which seek to enforce access rights under Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 normally do so by serving a notice under section 14 of the Act. Following the decision of the Inner House in the first case in which it considered this legislation, Tuley v Highland Council, 2009 CSIH 31A¹, this may change; effective challenges to such notices will be easier. Tuley, in which I acted for the successful appellant, is an important decision which should substantially alter perception of how the Act works in practice. Continue Reading »

1. Odd style of citation, but seems to be correct. [back]

In a throwback to medieval sumptuary laws, House Bill 2099, locally known as the ‘Saggy Pants Bill’, is now under consideration in the Tennessee legislature. The Bill makes it a criminal offence to “knowingly wear pants below the waistline, in a public place, in a manner that exposes the person’s underwear or bare buttocks.” Continue Reading »