Dumpling in a Hanky

There was a motion proposed last week by the Magistrate's Association in England and Wales, to end the swearing of oaths in court on the bible and other holy books. Although the motion was defeated , there was a sentence that caught my eye: Had the motion been passed, it would probably have needed the approval of parliament to bring the change about. The previous version of the story mentioned it in this way: The practice is so old that it is not clear whether it is simply custom or if Parliament would have to change it. And Oaths sworn on the Bible are old enough for the Magistrates' Association to be unsure whether they are mere custom and practice or whether they were laid down by law. So, whatever the decision in Cardiff, it might need the approval of Parliament to bring the change about.  I found this quite unusual: changes to the law were being proposed, but the people proposing the changes didn't actually know how they would go about changing it! ...

It’s all change at the moment in Englandshire law firms, and what happens in England no longer stays in England . Alternative Business Structures (ABS) are all the rage, and after a gradual run up period where firms could register interest in the conversion to ABS status (with mainly personal injury firms (PI) and smaller firms doing so, some large businesses such as BT and the Co-operative group being an exception), now they’re actually real – the first three groups to be approved as ABS’ were announced on the 28th March 2012 . Mid tier and larger firms in England seems to be adopting a “wait and see approach”, watching how the smaller, more adaptable firms (and also therefore possibly those who are more hungry for a cash-injection) fare before committing themselves to any tie-ups with investors. The existing large bodies like the Co-operative Group are big enough, and well funded enough to push on and expand their existing legal services in their own direction. The react...

Feel like going fishing? Well, if you want to go and fish in the River Esk, which is mainly in Scotland, you'll have to apply for a fishing licence from the Environment Agency in England. Bit confusing, so there's a test case coming up on the 10th September...

Ah, FindLaw UK , a shiny new website, for general public access to law, and solicitors. Sounds like a good thing, and in principle, it is. But I have to go back to a traditional moan: Scots law differs in many areas from English/Welsh law. The Findlaw UK website almost exclusively refers to E/W law, but doesn't actually state this. There are a few references to where there are differences, but these can be deep in the articles e.g the core section on divorce procedure refers entirely to E/W law, with only a related article alongside outlining that there are different procedures in different jurisdictions. The Personal Injury section refers you to the website of Community Legal Advice , which offers "free, confidential and independent legal advice for resident of England and Wales" . Buying and Selling Property is purely about E/W law, I can't find even a hint of the Scottish differences. Bankruptcy? Alcohol and Crime? Dispute Resolution Law? Criminal Law...

Really? Erm....why? I think Vanessa on the Fidra Blog says it all best.... Lets just hope the SQA doesn't get such daft ideas into their collective mind, or the youth of Scotland will be churning out fan fiction / poems based on William McGonnagall's work ...although JK Rowling may have got there first, having already borrowed his surname for a character!