Dr Kirsty Hood, KC

This Practice Note provides guidance on how factual evidence is handled in a civil action in the Scottish courts. It provides an overview of the relevance and admissibility of factual evidence (including hearsay) in Scottish civil litigation before considering the methods of gathering factual evidence, including recovery of documents under the Administration of Justice (Scotland) Act 1972, commission and diligence, witness evidence by commission, and letters of request for witnesses and documents outside of Scotland. It also comments on when it may not be necessary to lead evidence, considering concepts such as judicial knowledge, judicial admissions, and rebuttable presumptions. It discusses disclosure requirements in Scottish civil litigation and the impact of legal professional privilege. It considers the forms of evidence that can be placed before the court (witness, documentary, and real evidence) and how to present that evidence. Finally, it considers where specialist court procedures (for commercial, intellectual property and personal injury actions) contain specific procedural requirements

This Practice Note provides an overview of the jurisdiction rules which determine circumstances in which the Scottish civil courts may hear an action which has international and/or or intra-UK aspects. It includes guidance on intra-UK jurisdiction (under Schedule 4, Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 (CJJA 1982)) as well as international jurisdiction (under Brussels I (recast), the Lugano Convention and the Hague Convention) and the residual rules (under Schedule 8, CJJA 1982). It also provides guidance on the position where multiple proceedings are begun in different jurisdictions, considering concepts including lis pendens, forum non conveniens and sisting proceedings. Finally, this Practice Note offers practical tips when considering issues of jurisdiction in Scotland.

This Practice Note provides an overview of how the Northern Ireland Assembly is elected, the key players in the Assembly (and, in particular, the role and powers of the Assembly’s executive branch), and how the Assembly makes laws. The broader context of decision-making in Northern Ireland (with a focus upon certain specialities of the devolution arrangements necessitated by recent history in Northern Ireland) is discussed in Practice Note: The Process of Decision Making in Northern Ireland.

This Practice Note provides an overview of how the Scottish Parliament is elected, and how it exercises its law-making powers. Within that context, it also describes how the Scottish government is formed, and the functions which it performs.

This Practice Note provides an overview of the Welsh Parliament (Senedd Cymru), commonly known as the Senedd, how it is elected and how it makes laws. It also describes the role, and powers, of the Welsh Government.

This Practice Note examines the development and mechanics of the devolution arrangements within the constitutional structure of the UK. There is a devolved legislature (and executive branch) in three of the component parts of the UK. However, the way in which powers are devolved to each of those legislatures is not uniform, and a large part of the UK does not have any form of devolved legislature interposed between the UK government at Westminster and the citizens. This Practice Note explains why there are such different approaches, and gives an overview of the way in which powers are devolved, and how those devolved powers are exercised.

This Practice Note explains some of the special features of devolution and decision making under the Northern Ireland Act 1998, including power-sharing and cross community support, which are a specific response to the past conflict in Northern Ireland. It also describes some differences in the role of the Secretary of State in the Northern Ireland devolution scheme (as compared to the devolution settlement in Scotland and Wales).

This Checklist offers guidance on how to determine whether a Scottish court has jurisdiction to deal with the specific civil dispute. In doing so, it considers provisions under Brussels I (recast), the Lugano Convention, the Hague Convention and the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982.

This Flowchart shows the steps taken for a Bill to progress to an Act in the Northern Ireland Assembly, including referral to the Secretary of State and challenge by law officers.