Readers of Scots Law News with Christmas book tokens burning holes in their wallets could do no better than repair to a good bookshop or (if possible) Amazon and get themselves a copy of the autobiography of Sheriff Irvine Smith QC, Law, Life and Laughter: A Personal Verdict, published earlier this year.

The dust jacket carries characteristic portraits of the author, standing outside the portico-ed exterior of (your correspondent thinks) the former Justiciary buildings in Glasgow, within which he began to make his name as an advocate in the late 1950s.  When your correspondent was an Edinburgh law student back in the mid-1970s, he made an outing to the Glasgow sheriff court (then in the County Buildings in Wilson Street) to see in action the by now formidable judge whose scintillating prose and wit had incomparably brightened up the study of criminal law and procedure, notably in the great case of Heron v Diack and Newlands 1973 SLT (Sh Ct) 27 (the coffins and the corpse that would not sink in the waters of the Firth of Clyde).  Our lecturer had also regaled his class with tales of Irvine Smith’s judicious put-downs of the bar and Glasgow’s criminal classes (one of which is retold here at pp 166-167), so it was clear that a train journey would likely be worth the slight drain on the student wallet.  The experience did not disappoint: in the chaotic conditions seething behind the classical facade of the court building, Sheriff Smith was indeed presiding...

A press release from 10 Downing Street on 20 December 2012 confirmed that Lord Reed has been appointed as a Justice of the UK Supreme Court to take the place of the late Lord Rodger of Earlsferry as one of the Scots law judges.  At the same time Lord Justice Carnwath of the English Court of Appeal was also appointed to the Court, to succeed Lord Brown when he retires in April 2012.

The UK Supreme Court's own press release reads as follows:

The appointment of Lord Reed and Lord Justice Carnwath CVO as new Justices of the Supreme Court has today been welcomed by Lord Phillips, President of the Court.

Lord Phillips said:

“The independent selection commission were faced with a very strong field of candidates who applied following open advertisement of the vacancies.  Lord Reed brings depth of experience in Scots law and practice, as well as insights into the work of the European Court of Human Rights.  Lord Justice Carnwath’s range of experience as a senior judge is complemented by his Chairmanship of the Law Commission, his work reforming the tribunals system and his service as the first Senior President of Tribunals.  As I near the end of my time as President of this court, it is encouraging to be welcoming colleagues of such high calibre and I am only sorry I will not have longer to work alongside them.”

The two appointments follow the death of Lord Rodger in June 2011 and the forthcoming retirement of Lord Brown...

Scots Law News has learned with sadness of the death on 13 December 2011 of the distinguished legal academic Tony Weir of Trinity College, Cambridge.  Tony was a Scot, born in 1936 and brought up and schooled in Edinburgh.  He made a major contribution to English law (especially the law of tort) and to comparative law.

Tony Weir had been a Fellow of Trinity since 1962.  At the time of his death he was an Emeritus Reader in Law.  He was probably best-known to law students through his Casebook on Tort, first published in 1967 and subsequently in nine further editions, the last appearing in 2004.  This was rather more than a collection of extracts from leading decisions and became famous for its mordantly witty comments on the situations with which the law had to deal and on the ways in which the judges saw fit to carry out their task and justify their decisions.  As one of your correspondent’s colleagues remarked in recent days, Tony Weir showed that the study of tort law could be fun; but he had serious points to make as well.  One of the epics which your correspondent will long remember is an Edinburgh debate in the David Hume Institute about the “compensation culture”, where, under the urbane chairmanship of Lord Mackay of Clashfern, Tony went head-to-head with Frank Maguire of Thompsons.  Wit and scepticism on one side collided in verbal violence with passion and belief on the other, and the chair only just about...

To the sombre magnificence of St Giles in Edinburgh on the cold wet evening of Friday 26 November 2011 for a memorial service in honour of Lord Rodger of Earlsferry; then on to a dinner in the opulent splendour of the Signet Library.  Both events attended by a legal galaxy from not only the United Kingdom but also continental Europe.  The fine formal tributes at each part of the event moved their hearers in different ways, and left your correspondent with a deeper understanding of the threads of rich friendships running through Alan's multi-faceted career.  The Ciceronian line on the cover of the order of service was indeed apt: "non nobis solum nati sumus ortusque nostri partem patria vindicat, partem amici."

The service, conducted by the Very Rev Gilleasbuig Macmillan, Minister of St Giles, took a strongly traditional Christian approach, with the choir and organ of St Giles in fine form, the congregation rendering Psalm 100 and two hymns ("O God, our help in ages past"; and "For all the saints", the latter Alan's favourite, as we were told at the funeral), and two scriptural readings by Lord Cullen of Whitekirk (Proverbs 4: 1-9 ["Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction, consider attentively how to gain understanding"]) and Lord Mackay of Clashfern (Epistle to the Romans 8: 31-39 ["If God is on our side, who is against us?"]).

The eulogies came from Colin Mackay, TV and radio broadcaster, and friend of Alan from earliest schooldays as well as at Glasgow University, and

The UK Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the validity of the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act 2009 against the challenge to it made by insurance companies.  The judgments are very important discussions, not only about the Scottish Parliament's legislative competence but also about its subjection to judicial review.

The Court's press release reads as follows (references in square brackets are to paragraphs in the judgment; the Rothwell case is Rothwell v Chemical & Insulating Co Ltd [2007] UKHL 29, the decision that pleural plaques did not constitute an actionable harm which the 2009 Act seeks to reverse):

JUDGMENT
The Supreme Court dismisses the appeal and allows the cross-appeal by the third to tenth respondents. The leading judgments were given by Lord Hope and Lord Reed, with whom the other justices agreed.

REASONS FOR THE JUDGMENT
The Court holds that the appellants are entitled to bring these proceedings under the Convention as the effect of the 2009 Act is that they would be victims for the purposes of article 34 and that the amount of money the appellants would be required to pay is a possession for the purposes of Article 1 Protocol 1 of the ECHR [28], [112-114]. Therefore in order for the 2009 Act to comply with Article 1 Protocol 1, it must be shown that the Act is pursuing a legitimate aim and is reasonably proportionate to the aim pursued.  In issues involving questions of social policy, which this is, the Court should respect the judgment of the elected body as...

As the Gaddafi regime in Libya was finally toppled in August 2011, so inevitably speculation also began about the implications for Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the convicted Lockerbie bomber, the second anniversary of whose compassionate release from Greenock prison by the Scottish Government came and went as the insurgents reached Tripoli.

Megrahi had been filmed a couple of weeks before attending a pro-Gaddafi rally in Tripoli, apparently in a wheelchair, and it was also reported that he remained in regular contact with East Renfrewshire Council social workers (one of the conditions of his release).

The concatenation of events led to voices being raised, not only about a possible recall to prison in Scotland, but also, in the USA and especially on Fox News and the like, of capturing Megrahi and putting him on trial in America.  Presumably that might be less difficult in present conditions in Libya than finding and killing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan was earlier this year.

Scots Law News does wonder what legality might have to say about a US trial for Megrahi, given that he has already been convicted of the crime in question and neither the Scottish or the UK governments have for a moment suggested that the conviction has been over-turned.  Presumably the co-operation of the Crown Office would be needed as well to enable US prosecutors to get hold of the material evidence that would be needed for a trial with any pretensions to being one under the rule of law.

Finally there is the interesting question of...

As the storm over the phone-hacking methods of the News of the World intensified to the point where the newspaper's owners decided to close it on 7 July 2011, the Crown Office earlier the same day issued the following statement, which it appears most straightforward to give verbatim:

"CROWN OFFICE STATEMENT:  HM ADVOCATE V TOMMY SHERIDAN

FOR PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST

In light of emerging developments regarding the News of the World the Crown has requested Strathclyde Police to enquire into the evidence given by certain witnesses in the trial of Tommy Sheridan.

Strathclyde Police have been asked to make a preliminary assessment and to report to the Area Procurator Fiscal at Glasgow for consideration of any further action."

The Crown Office issued a further statement on 8 July:

ALLEGED TELEPHONE HACKING IN SCOTLAND

In light of further emerging developments regarding the News of the World the Crown has asked Strathclyde Police to consider and assess specific claims of phone hacking and breaches of data protection in Scotland.

Strathclyde Police will review available information and will liaise with the Metropolitan Police in relation to any Scottish dimension to their current investigations and will thereafter report their findings to the Area Procurator Fiscal at Glasgow.
 

All this may in due course raise an interesting legal question about the effect on the validity of a conviction, if any of the prosecution evidence in the case is found to have been perjured.

Sad news of the death of Lord Rodger of Earlsferry on 26 June 2011.  He had been ill with the effects of a brain tumour since the early spring.

Alan Rodger was the greatest Scots lawyer of his generation as well as a highly distinguished scholar with an academic publications record that any full-time professor would have been proud of. And he was a highly stimulating and entertaining social companion.  He would have mocked the cliche, but he has been taken from us while still at the height of his remarkable powers.

The bare facts of Alan's glitteringly varied career can be simply told.  He was born and educated in Glasgow (Kelvinside Academy, Glasgow University) before moving to take a DPhil in Roman Law at Oxford under the supervision of Professor David Daube (previously of Aberdeen).  Daube became the most significant intellectual influence on Alan's thinking about and approach to law in general.  The DPhil thesis, published in 1972 as Owners and Neighbours in Roman Law, led first to a Junior Research Fellowship at Balliol and then to a Fellowship at New College, Oxford from 1970, during which time he began to publish on Scots as well as Roman law.  One of his articles then was cited in argument in a Scottish court but dismissed by the judge as written by one who had no right of appearance before him (Mercantile Credit v Townsley 1971 SLT (Sh Ct) 37 at 39).  Perhaps in answer, in 1974 Alan was called to the Scottish Bar, becoming as soon...

The Scottish Government's Expert Group to consider the jurisdiction of the UK Supreme Court in criminal matters will consist of Lord McCluskey, Sir Gerald Gordon QC, Sheriff Charles Stoddart and Professor Neil Walker.

It is of course a distinguished group but, Scots Law News feels bound to add, not one in the first flush of youth, and also one entirely masculine.  Others will feel worried by an excessive quotient of Edinburgh Law School associations, but that is something on which your editor cannot possibly comment.  What difference any of this will make to their advice is anyone's guess.

Following a fevered few days of public debate since the Nat Fraser decision by the UK Supreme Court, the new Scottish Cabinet has announced after its meeting on 31 May 2011 the creation of an expert group to look into the question of the Court's jurisdiction in Scottish criminal cases.

The names of the experts are awaited with interest.