Scottish Human Rights Law Group

 
Equality of arms and fair trial – civil case
The court confirmed that common law and Article 6 principles of fairness which required an equality of arms and no element of ambush in the emergence of evidence applied to the proceedings of a licensing board, notwithstanding their administrative character since their proceedings were concerned with the determination of licences to operate …

 
The accused were public works contractors, being prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for alleged contamination of a public water supply in Edinburgh and environs following a spill of diesel oil from machinery being operated by the accused while carrying out road resurfacing works. The result  was that the water supply to parts of Edinburgh …

 
An Extra Division of the Inner House rejected a challenge to the lawfulness of allowing issues at that stage, noting that complaints as to the fairness or otherwise of a civil jury trial could not be addressed in the abstract but only after an event at which it is claimed that an unfair trial took place.

 
A claim for damages was raised in respect of a road traffic accident in 1986 which was timeously raised in the Court of Session 1996, but shortly thereafter then sisted for a period of six years until August 2003. In dismissing the action for want of prosecution, the Lord Ordinary held that it was inconceivable that the Court of Session …

 
Subcontractors appealed against the decision of a sheriff granting absolvitor in their action for declarator and payment against the main contract, in which the sub-contractor sought damages in respect of the alleged breach of contract on the part of the main contractor. The action had been sisted for arbitration in terms of the contract in August 1995 but no arbitration …