(621)  RING OUT THE OLD, RING IN THE NEW

2006 produced some vintage material for Scots Law News, although we are aware of a few loose ends left hanging round by our less than intensive approach to researching stories for our readers’ delectation.  What happened to Charlie the anti-social cockerel, for example?  See No 595.  Charlie was due in Selkirk Sheriff Court again on 3 November, but no word has come our way about his fate.  Similarly, what about the sentence of Andrew Barron, the only person convicted so far under the Protection of Wild Mammals etc (Scotland) Act 2002, whose sentence was deferred for six months back in May (see No 565)?  The current whereabouts of Steve Gough, the Naked Rambler jailed for seven months back in August (No 576) are also unknown to us, and his website (http://nakedwalk.org) provides no further information. 

 

We do know what happened to smoking in Scotland in 2006 (see Nos 546 and 591), and that Tommy Sheridan won a famous victory in a defamation action against the News of the World (see No 587), but the consequences of that are still being worked out (see e.g. Nos 589, 590, 592 and 599), and may provide us with some more interesting material in the coming year.  There is much else to look forward to in 2007.  Will the tercentenary of the Anglo-Scottish Parliamentary Union of 1 May 1707 be marked by an SNP victory in the Scottish Parliamentary elections on 3 May heralding its early demise – or will the party’s current high standing in the polls have evaporated by then, as so often in similar situations in the past?  Again, will the tercentenary of the Edinburgh Law School (see http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/tercentenary for the programme of events and other details) be marked by the abolition of the LLB degree as a professional qualification following a Law Society of Scotland consultation on the future of legal education and training (see http://www.lawsocietyofscotland.org.uk/training/consult/Introduction.aspx for the details, plus No 583 previously)?  Will the Law Society itself be challenged in any way, not only by the new Complaints Commission under the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill (see No 593), but also by the rumoured creation of a Scottish Bar Association, linking together all the country’s disgruntled criminal and civil legal aid solicitors (see for the background to the lack of gruntlement Nos 561, 564, 567, and 581)?  There must also be some tension around the proposed introduction of sellers’ surveys in March, given their demise in England (see No 584) and the resignation just before Christmas of Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm, begetter of the policy supporting their introduction.  Also of probable considerable significance are the Scottish local government elections (also in May), the first to be held under a proportional representation system and thought likely to lead to major changes in the local political landscape around the country. 

 

Keep tuning in to Scots Law News to find answers to these and other burning questions of the day.  No doubt old favourites will return once more to the fore during 2007 as well, and there will be some new ones helping keep Scots Law News rolling along.  Meantime, however, a good New Year to all readers!