Absolvitor: Scots Law Online

Slate My Teacher

2009-07-04T15:13:00.005+01:00

An article in the Times Educational Supplement reports that a court in Germany has ruled that schoolchildren may rate their teachers online.

The Court rejected the case of a woman who argued that her pupils had infringed her rights by giving her poor grades on the popular site spickmich.de. The German Federal Court of Justice found that pupils had the right to offer their opinions so long as their teachers were not hindered professionally.

Similar controversy (though, to my knowledge, no litigation) has followed sites such as RateMyTeachers in the UK with teachers complaining about unfavourable comments from pupils.

To my mind (outside the ordinary laws of defamation) there is absolutely no reason why teachers should not be subject to pupil evaluation on the web. After all, pupils' views are now sought as an integral part of HMIe school inspection reports - which are reported online too.

Maybe it's time for a RateMyLawyer website? Or is that why we have Chambers and Legal 500?

ID cards will not be "voluntary"

2009-07-03T02:50:00.003+01:00

From the good offices of NO2ID, the following.

"The ID scheme has not been shelved, cancelled, or even significantly changed.

"Once more government spin has triumphed and much of the media has got it wrong. The new Home Secretary Alan Johnson has not made any significant changes to the scheme. Compulsion by stealth is still the order of the day, just as it always was. Someone joining the ID scheme "voluntarily" will still be placing control of their identity in the hands of the IPS for life.

"The Home Office line remains the same. No compulsion (as the Home Office defines it) was going to be applied until almost everyone had "volunteered" and then it was only a matter of rounding up a minority of resisters and marginalised people.

"The Home Office's idea of "voluntary" is not the same as yours and mine. Since 2004 the scheme was (and it still is) to proceed by "designating" one-by-one under the Identity Cards Act 2006 other documents issued by official bodies -- in the first place passports.

" Once a document has been designated, you won't be able to apply for one without also applying to be entered, for life, on the national identity register. If you don't agree to be registered it won't be that you are refused (say) a passport; you'd have voluntarily decided not to apply. There's no compulsion to have a passport. It is useful for travelling. But you aren't compelled to travel.

"Or (say) to drive. Or to work as a security guard. Or with children. Or in healthcare. To get parole from prison. To practice as a lawyer. ... Any official licence, registration certificate or permit can be designated, and -- in the home office's skewed logic -- handing control of your identity to the Home Office's Identity and Passport Service will still be entirely voluntary.

"That they were due for a confrontation with the airside worker's unions over designating new passes at Manchester and City Airports is an illustration of just how voluntary "voluntary" really is. But the fact they have now ducked that fight for political convenience suggests saying no does work - if you say it loudly enough."

"It is still not too late for MPs to derail the scheme by repudiating the regulations due to be debated next week and detailed in the last newsletter. Only one of those statutory instruments has been dropped. If you have not done so already, please contact your MP: www.writetothem.com.

"(NO2ID's lobbying guide, written for us by the former assistant of a very distinguished retired minister, is brusque but absolutely to the point: http://www.no2id.net/downloads/print/NO2ID-HowtoLobby.pdf).

"Peers will also have a vote on this; so if you happen to know one (or be one), then it would be a good idea to alert friends in the Lords now that the matter is soon to come up."

Since when can you make one right (to privacy from the State) dependent on surrendering another (the write to travel freely) and still call it a voluntary scheme.

No to ID.

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

When does 33 equal 25? In Primary 1

2009-07-02T20:16:00.004+01:00

More Primary School Maths, I'm afraid. I was also on Breakfast TV this morning with this (tho' I missed it and can't find on iPlayer or anything).

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

Just Say No(t Guilty)

2009-06-29T23:17:00.005+01:00

News reaches us that an Edinburgh solicitor has been accused of dealing drugs from the law firm where he worked as a partner.

According to the BBC News website, he is alleged to have supplied cocaine to four men from the offices of Allan McDougall Solicitors in Dalkeith in January 2009. One of the men later died of a suspected overdose. He denies charges of possessing and supplying class A drugs, has been bailed and is due to stand trial in December.

So, does the legal profession have a drugs problem? I conducted my own deeply unscientific survey of the BBC News site and came up with the following:

A solicitor in Nottingham convicted of smuggling £15 of cannabis in her bra to a client in custody (2007) She got 15 months in jail.
A London solicitor convicted of fraud and attempting to pervert the course of justice by inter alia providing false alibis to drug gang members (2007) He got 14.5 years in jail.
A Glasgow solicitor convicted of supplying heroin and diazepam to a client in Barlinnie Prison (2006) She got 2 years 8 months in jail.
A senior defence solicitor convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice by concocting lies for a man (actually a BBC researcher in a sting op) caught in possession of cocaine (2006) He was sentenced to 3 years in jail.

I follow this with an article from The Times which suggests that drug use in legal circles is "absolutely endemic" and the link to LawCare - an advisory and support service to help lawyers, their staff and their immediate families to deal with health problems such as depression and addiction, and related emotional difficulties.

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

A SLAB of expenses

2009-06-28T00:34:00.004+01:00

It has been reported in The Herald that an award of expenses has been made directly against the Scottish Legal Aid Board in a matrimonial case.

The paper reports "Solicitors acting for William Bohannon repeatedly raised problems in the action against him with the board and asked, without success, that legal aid granted to Carol Young be suspended. Mr Bohannon, 62, successfully defended two actions but was left with lawyers' bills of more than £33,500 and possible bankruptcy."

Lord Brodie, in the Court of Session, decided to grant expenses against the Board after concluding that that Mr Bohannon would suffer financial hardship if an order was not made. He is also reported as noting "The board has not chosen to defend its conduct in the matter."

Ah, SLAB ... "provid[ing] access to justice for those eligible and in need of it, in a cost-effective manner."

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots law online.

Soft on Pirates - soft on the causes of piracy

2009-06-22T23:16:00.003+01:00

The Scottish Parliament has been asked to support a campaign to clear the name of Captain Kidd, who was hanged for piracy over three hundred years ago.

But - wouldn't we be sending out a message to the world that Scotland was soft on pirates?

Source: Govan Law Centre

2009-06-17T21:28:00.003+01:00

Spot the Govan Law Centre in this news clip on class sizes.

In Yon Shady Glen

2009-06-16T01:15:00.005+01:00

I am up far too late as my good friend T. plied me with too much caffiene-filled cola drink after 8pm - which means I can't sleep (a bit like the Mogwai in Gremlins - sort of).

So, I will bring you news of a legal defeat for the Scotch Whisky Association in the Canadian courts. The Canuck judiciary have ruled that Canada's only single malt "Glen Breton Rare" is not confusing for consumers. The SWA contended that the use of the word "Glen" might fool people into thinking that it was a Scotch whisky and not a Canadian one.

However, the Canadian Federal Court held that, being from Glenville, they could legitimately use the title - which was not likely to confuse punters (until they had drunk at least four or five measures at any rate). Leave to appeal has been refused and the SWA, in an official press release, report themselves to be "disappointed".

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online while listening to La Mer by Charles Trénet.

"Thought Crime" Bill passed

2009-06-03T23:07:00.005+01:00

Patrick Harvie MSP's Bill was unanimously passed by the Scottish Parliament today. So perfectly drafted was the Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Bill that it was not amended at all during its passage through Parliament.

Surely, this type of legislation requires at least one MSP to yell "Thought Crime!" - maybe they did and were outvoted? At any rate, it will be law soon and any offences motivated (in part or in whole) by the victim's sexual orientation or disability will be punished with extra severity. And who could argue with that?

I suppose one of the problems with this kind of provision is that people start to feel left out. There are now aggravations in relation to race, sexual orientation, disability and religion. Now, what about gender? Or age? Or social class? Shouldn't we be stamping out these hate crimes too? And if the list is too long then all offences end up being aggravated and, therefore, none of them are. To quote W.S. Gilbert from The Gondoliers "When everybody's somebody - then no-one's anybody."

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

No fault claims on the NHS

2009-06-02T00:11:00.004+01:00

The Herald reports on plans afoot to introduce a "no fault" compensation scheme in the NHS for those injured at the hands of its doctors. This would avoid the need for complex negligence claims.

It would, it is said, be similar to the current system for criminal injuries compensation.

What is not immediately apparent to be is why those injured by the health service would be fast tracked for compensation, but there are no similar plans for injury or damaged caused by other public services like social work, education, nationalised banks or watching too many episodes of tronji on the BBC.

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

Pilot Protection Project for Tayside's Children

2009-05-28T23:02:00.005+01:00

From the website of the Scottish Government, I learn that a pilot project to provide parents with improved access to information about known sex offenders who may be in contact with their children will be trialled in Tayside from September 2009 until the end of May 2010.

Under the scheme, members of the public within the pilot area will be able to register a child-protection interest in a named individual who has unsupervised access to their child or children.

Police will be alerted to concerns, with a presumption that they will inform the parent, carer or guardian if the named person has convictions for sex offences. If the child is found to be at serious risk of harm then child protection measures will also be instigated.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill is quoted as saying: "I'm pleased to confirm that Tayside will be the area for the sex offender disclosure pilot and that we are now liaising with all the criminal justice partners in the region as they prepare for implementation."

"While we must all rightly be alert to stranger danger, most sexual offences against children are committed by individuals known to the child's family - adults who abuse a position of trust with that child. This project provides another link which will assist in identifying vulnerable children and families who are unknown to police and care agencies to ensure that correct help and advice are provided."

It will be interesting to see by what criteria the pilot will be judged, what counts as a "child-protection interest" (can you check up on your next door neighbours? the local shopkeeper? members of your own family?), and what will happen post-disclosure? Should we be stocking up on torches and pitchforks?

Gordon's Den bashes bingo!

2009-05-26T23:40:00.004+01:00

Bingo blog Unlucky for Some reports that the future of land based bingo clubs in Scotland are now at serious risk. Bingo players throughout Scotland are said to be very concerned with the present situation after the UK Government "in their infinite wisdom" raised the tax duty on land based bingo from 15% (Young and Keen) to 22% (Two Little Ducks) across the board. However, other gaming sectors like sports betting and casinos only have to pay 15% tax.

Stewart Hosie MP is quoted as saying, "This tax hike on bingo which is a highly popular social activity, when duty on other forms of gambling including sports betting, casino and online poker and football pools will remain at 15% is unfair. In scores of communities across Scotland, the bingo club is a vital part of the social fabric. It offers good quality, safe entertainment and social facilities providing fun, enjoyment and friendship for many people, particularly women. This Westminster tax-hike in the midst of the deepest recession for more than 60 (Six-O Blind Sixty) years will affect many in my constituency and across Scotland."

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

Nurse sacked for church comments in role play

2009-05-26T23:24:00.005+01:00

A NHS Nurse with over 40-years experience has been sacked after he suggested two "patients" might go to Church to relieve stress during a role play session on a training course.

Committed Christian, Anand Rao, aged 71, was taking part in simulated situations as part of an exercise in palliative care. He advised two persons playing the roles of husband and wife patients they might like to try going to church to relieve stress. He was then sacked.

Mr. Rao has recently instructed the Christian Legal Centre to advise him and is considering taking legal action for religious discrimination against his former employer.

Okay, two things. First, there are a number of clinical studies which indicate that church attendance does, indeed, have positive health benefits - here is one example: "Keeping the faith: UC Berkeley researcher links weekly church attendance to longer, healthier life". So his advice had a sound clinical basis. Second, the advice was given on a training course to fictional characters. What kind of training course dismisses those who get the "wrong" answers anyway - was it designed by Endemol?

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

Passport to Reality

2009-05-17T02:29:00.003+01:00

Brendan MacFarlane is an 11 year boy from Perth who sings Ray Charles songs on YouTube. He's also taking his mother to court, in order to follow the well trodden path to reality show stardom.

Brendan has a spot on US TV show "Maury's Most Talented Kids". Brendan lives with his Dad, but his passport lives with his Mum. And, of course Brendan needs his passport to attend filming of the talent show in New York. Hence the court action.

Apparently, the BBC have reported that Brendan's mother failed to appear in court due to an "upset stomach" - and it will be heard again next month.

My first Sheriff-Principal case

2009-05-13T21:12:00.007+01:00

In this poast (sic), I just wanted to bring you up to date with my latest court outing, which just so happened to be an exciting, adventurous and - above all - victorious jolly to the Sheriff-Principal in Glasgow and Strathkelvin (my first). Extra gratifying as little ol' me from Govan Law Centre was up against the might of counsel.

It was a disability discrimination case (against an independent school) and the decision says some interesting things to say about where the onus lies in terms of the reasonable steps duty (largely with the school, as it turns out). It also confirms that a failure to take reasonable steps might lead to an exclusion being overturned - even if the decision to exclude does not amount to less favourable treatment.

You can read the full judgement here: ES. v. K. School. And you can post your congratulations in the comments box below! ;o)

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

ASL Bill Stage 2

2009-05-02T00:45:00.005+01:00

Just a quick note to mark the completion this week of Stage 2 of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill. I will probably be writing a full article for the Journal of the Law Society of Scotland once Stage 3 is done and dusted, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

The Bill has changed so much from its introduction to now, who knows what it will look like once it has completed its passge through Parliament?

The Force is strong with this one?

2009-04-17T00:43:00.004+01:00

If there really are 8 Jedi in Strathclyde Police, how come the crime detection and clean up rates are so low?

Also, since it is now apparently fine to declare a fictional religion to your employer, is it also okay to declare fictional racial groups too? Who's up for declaring themselves as Elvish in the next Census?

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

So to Constabulary, pirates yield!

2009-04-15T22:58:00.005+01:00

At last! News reaches me from the ever faithful BBC News website that the French have captured some pirates. Rather than meekly handing over millions of dollars in ransom, the French warship "Nivôse" (part of an EU piracy patrol) captured 11 pirates off the coast of Kenya, just hours after a failed attack on a US ship.

NB. Although the report is not clear, I assume that it was the pirates and not the French warship which attacked the US vessel!

Following hard on the heels of that report came another, revealing that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has unveiled a four-point plan to tackle piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Disappointingly, this plan does not involve the use of cannon, cutlasses or privateers. As Mrs. Clinton says: "We may be dealing with a 17th-Century crime, but we need to bring 21st Century assets to bear." Not so much "Shiver me timbers!" as "Frozen me assets!"?

Apparently the question of criminal jurisdiction for crimes of piracy is somewhat vexed. While we all know what to do with a drunked sailor. It would appear that it is not always clear what to do with a captured pirate. For example, last September a Danish ship detained 10 armed pirates in the seas off Somalia after they had attacked merchant ships. However, Denmark only has national criminal jurisdiction if the pirates are attacking a Danish ship or Danish citizens. So they couldn't be brought to Denmark for prosecution. Eventually, the pirates were set free and landed in a safe place on the shore of Somalia.

Of course part of the problem is that piracy is so profitable that the small risk of getting caught or injured is outweighed by the near certainty that the corporate owners of the hijacked ship will shell out a hefty ransom. Did you know that paying a ransom is not illegal under British law, unless it's to terrorists. Fact. Also that there are lawyers in London whose job it is to negotiate the amount and means of delivery of a ransom with pirates. According to Stephen Askins of Ince & Co. it's a lot like negotiating with an Egyptian market trader over the price of a carpet! I suppose it is, except that the market trader is unlikely to set fire to the carpet if you don't cough up enough piaster. But Ince & Co. would know - after all how many law firms have felt the need to publish a guide called Piracy - issues arising from the use of armed guards?

In an effort to crack down on the pirates the US and the EU have both concluded deals with Somalia's neighbour Kenya to send pirates for prosecution there. However there are concerns with this approach. Human Rights Watch says there are problems in Kenya: "People are routinely beaten in jail. Trials are rarely free and fair. Judges are highly susceptible to corruption."

Still, it's got to be better that the traditional punishment for piracy, which I believe involved a long drop and a short rope.

PS. There's a prize of three (virtual) Doubloons to the first person to spot where the pirates who fly the jolly roger flag I designed (top right) come from. And another three to the scurvy dog who can identify the source of the quote which forms the title to this article.

PPS. I've now got all of the pirate related silliness out of my system. I promise, just serious pirate news from now on (in the main).

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

Accidents happen!

2009-04-05T03:03:00.004+01:00

One in the eye for all those who claim that Britain is turning into a USA-style "compensation culture", from the Evening Times of all places.

Michelle Orchard had sued a 13 year old boy who injured her whilst playing tag. She was in hospital for six weeks with her injuries. However, the Court of Appeal ruled that she was not entitled to compensation from the boy. Lord Justice Waller is quoted as saying: "Thirteen-year-old boys will be 13-year-old boys who will play tag."

Interesting that she chose to sue a 13 year old. What was she planning to do? Recover the award in installments from his pocket money or paper round wages?

In writing up the case for the law reports, I'd suggest the following as a rubic: "Accidents happen."

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online

Police Caution

2009-04-03T23:47:00.003+01:00

The Torygraph is venting its spleen about "political correctness gone mad" in Scotland's police forces, following the publication of a new diversity handbook for officers.

What is this paper's problem? The book seems to be full of useful advice like don't handcuff people who can only communicate by sign language if you can avoid it and don't use offensive terms like "deaf and dumb". I was doing some training for clerks to appeal committees who were asking about where they could get information like this for their committee members.

Use of language is important and taking the time to make sure you are not being needlessly offensive would seem to me to be time well spent. It might even instill just a little bit of much needed public confidence in the police force.

Ridiculously, the article veers between objecting to being told what to say and not say; and asserting that it's all so obvious that any police officer would know it all anyway! And, as usual, some rent-a-quote from the Taxpayers Alliance dives in to condemn the cost to the public purse.

And what was that cost? The astronomical sum of £4,500. For every police officer in Scotland? They should get a bloody award - that's amazingly cheap (and probably less than it cost the Taxpayers Alliance to get their press release out).

Who reads this drivel?

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

Best of the Blawgs

2009-03-29T20:55:00.004+01:00

Just a brief round-up of some interesting posts I found recently on other legal blogs.

First, Techno Llama has an interesting and amusing post about the PRS and Google/YouTube. A sample for you: "If purpose and intent are of importance as to whether or not a fee should be paid, shouldn't there be an exception for equine listeners?"

Second, I learn from Naked Law that cybersquatting is on the rise. Apparently, during 2008, 2,329 people or companies reported instances of cyber-squatting, including Arsenal Football Club, Google, Nestle and Scarlett Johansson.

Finally, I spotted this YouTube clip on Divorce Survivor. Worth the just over a minute it takes to play out, I think.

The key to managing your lawyer? Lower your expectations!

Gentlemen in Skirt

2009-03-25T23:31:00.004Z

An article in the This Day Online website ("African Views on Global News") and an amusing extract from the welcome address for budding lawyers entering law school in Nigeria.

" Gentlemen,

We use the above term with no apologies whatsoever to the gender hyperactive ones among you. The term has subsisted these long years to cover both sexes and we do not see any reason for it to be tampered with.

We must point out that we do not accede to the ludicrous version 'gentlemen in skirt' when referring to our females members ... As this is not Scotland, the very picture of a gentleman in skirt wakes up disturbing images which thankfully our laws have not yielded to yet. "

I'm guessing that "Law and Gender" hasn't made it onto the curriculum yet, then?

Sponsorship in Schools

2009-03-20T01:14:00.003Z

From today's Herald letters page:

Judith Gillespie is right to be concerned about commercial sponsorship in schools ("Watchdog embraces business cash for schools", The Herald, March 19). The legal duty on schools is to provide an education which is directed to "the development of the personality, talents and mental and physical abilities of the child or young person to their fullest potential", not one which is directed to the development of a company's brand image or profit margins.

Consumer Focus Scotland (CFS) also recently published a guide to education law for parents which includes the following advice: "If parents object to a proposed sponsorship arrangement, they could take this up with the head teacher or education authority." It is to be hoped that parents following this advice will not find their objections dismissed on the basis of another CFS document.

Iain Nisbet, Head of Education Law, Govan Law Centre, 47 Burleigh Street, Glasgow.

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online.

Get Naked to Cut Teen Pregnancies!

2009-03-19T00:29:00.003Z

The Herald reports on a novel solution to the thorny problem of teenage pregnancies - more nudity!

This counter-intuitive suggestion comes as part of a formal submission to the Scottish Government on child welfare - courtesy of the British Naturist Society.

According to Andrew Welch, of the British Naturist Society: "There is strong evidence that conventional attitudes towards the human body contribute significantly to a wide range of problems, some of them serious - but there is incredible reluctance to face the implications."

"Westminster Government figures published recently show that the UK has the worst teenage pregnancy figures of any country in Europe, while the figures are even worse in Scotland. The UK is probably the most censorious country in Europe about anything to do with the body."

"This pattern of less body tolerance, worse outcomes is repeated across the Western world. Our research shows conclusively that this is no chance connection."

"Governments, authority figures and social and community leaders should accept that the human body is not something to be ashamed of or embarrassed about and that being more open about it would benefit society. The evidence is clear but there is incredible reluctance to face the implications. It is time to leave prejudices behind and do what is right for the young people of this country."

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online

"Sovereign Man" disputes drink driving charge

2009-03-11T23:07:00.005Z

The Morning Call website in Pennsylvania, USA reports on an usual defence to a drink driving charge.

The law doesn't apply to him, he claims, because he is a "sovereign man". He continued, "I don't live in the state of Pennsylvania ... I live inside myself," The 44 year old man told the judge that to convict him would be tantamount to "committing acts of treason, usurpation and tyranny."

The judge has ordered a psychological examination of the man.

Posted on Absolvitor: Scots Law Online