Get off that land – some academic meandering in the Juridical Review

Another quick “signpost” blog, to direct any readers interested in access rights to my article “Get off that land – Non-owner regulation of access to land” in the most recent edition of the Juridical Review. (NB that link is to the journal’s homepage, rather than my article. General online access to articles is not available, as far as I am aware.)

Here is the abstract to the article:

This paper considers the right of responsible access to land conferred by Pt 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and disputes that may ensue in the exercise of those rights. The consideration will specifically exclude what might be the most common potential dispute, namely between landowner and access taker. Instead, the focus is on the tension between access takers, by which it is meant: access takers under the Act inter se; and access takers under the Act vis-à-vis other legitimate access takers. It examines the statutory regime and other areas of law that may provide guidance, before setting out possible reforms to the law, particularly in relation to dispute resolution.

The article has some resonance with an earlier blog on BaseDrones. It also draws on the Final Report of the LRRG, which Report seemed to indicate a general contentment with the access regime introduced to Scotland approximately ten years ago. One area the LRRG felt moved to comment on was dispute resolution. As indicated in the abstract above, I look at that aspect in a bit more detail.

On a completely different note, my School of Law colleague Ilona Cairns has an article in the same edition of the Juridical Review. Her article is entitled ‘“Feminising” Provocation in Scotland: The Expansion Dilemma’. This relates to the partial defence of provocation which is available in Scots criminal law but (as explained by Cairns) that defence can seem to be more readily available to males accused of crimes than females. Reform of that area of Scots law seems to be in the pipeline, so Cairns’ article is timely.

As ever, if you find any of this, eh, provocative, please do leave a comment below.