legal proceedings

Courtroom skills

'Courtroom skills' is suitable for a module or learning opportunity on working in courts. The object aims to: identify messages for effective courtroom practice; develop your understanding of the different roles in courtroom settings; help you manage your authority and role more effectively; develop your skills in negotiating out of court and in giving evidence; develop your knowledge, skills and confidence about cross examination.

Children's Hearings System

The topics in this report include: an overview of how the Children's Hearings system works; experiences of the premises used for hearings; the deliberations of the hearings which were observed; the excellent training programme for panel members; the changing role of reporters; concerns about resources available to service the system; legal aid and representation; and a summary of recommendations.

Carers Employment, European Court ruling - BBC Radio 4 You and Yours

BBC Radio 4 programme with Sharon Coleman, mother of a disabled son; Madeleine Starr, Strategic Projects Manager; and Stephen Alambritis, Head of Public Affairs at Federation of Small Businesses as guests. They discuss the result of a judgement by the European Court of Justice about the implications of carers and their employment opportunities.

Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2004

This Act of the Scottish Parliament relating to Criminal Procedure, is in four parts.

Part 1 deals with court procedures as they relate to the High Court of Justiciary.

Part 2 relates to trials in the High Court and the sheriff court. It also amends the time limits and citation provisions which are common to both courts.

Part 3 amends the provisions of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 in relation to bail.

Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002

The present law of marriage in Scotland is governed by the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977. The current position is that there is no restriction on places where religious marriages may be solemnised but a civil (non-religious) marriage may be solemnised only within a registration office, unless there are exceptional circumstances (i.e. where an individual is unable to attend a registration office as a result of serious illness or serious bodily injury and there is a good reason why the marriage cannot be delayed.

Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003

This Act of Scottish Parliament is in twelve parts: protection of the public at large; victims' rights; sexual offences; prisoners; drugs courts; non-custodial punishments; children; evidential, jurisdictional and procedural matters; bribery and corruption; criminal records; local authority functions; and a miscellaneous part which includes sections on offences aggravated by religious prejudice, wildlife offences and anti-social behaviour strategies.

The detention of children in the immigration system : first report of session 2009-10

Report of a House of Commons inquiry into the detention of children in the UK immigration system. It looked at why children were detained, how long they were detained for and the conditions inside Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre, Bedfordshire. It concludes that improvements need to be made to the legal process, the processing of asylum claims and the treatment of detainees pending legal decisions.

Scottish Courts

This website provides an access point to information relating to all civil and criminal courts within Scotland, including the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Sheriff Courts and a number of other courts, commissions and tribunals as well the District Courts.

The information includes location details, contact numbers, advice and details of recent significant judgements.