An account of those areas of the law of Scotland likely to be of most use and relevance to journalists.

The Scottish law on marriage, legal effects of marriage, separation and divorce, termination of marriage by death

These principles, definitions and model rules of European private law are otherwise known as the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR). This is an outline edition because, unlike the full edition to be published later this year, it does not contain comments and national notes after each model rule. The content covers model rules on contracts, contractual and non-contractual obligations and corresponding rights, specific contracts (such as contracts for the sale of goods or the supply of services), benevolent intervention in another's affairs, non-contractual liability arising out of damage caused to another, acquisition and loss of ownership of goods, proprietary security rights in movable assets and trusts.

This is the full edition of the DCFR, in six volumes and over 6500 pages, which contains not only model rules of European private law but also, in most parts. comments and national notes. It covers not only contract law in a broad sense (contracts and other juridical acts, contractual obligations, remedies for non-performance of contractual obligations; rules for various kinds of specific contracts) but also areas such as unjustified enrichment, benevolent intervention in another's affairs, non-contractual liability for damage caused to another, loss and acquisition of the ownership of goods, proprietary securities and trusts. The work is the independent work of private lawyers (mainly academics) from throughout the European Union co-ordinated by two groups - the Study Group on a European Civil Code and the Acquis Group - and put together and refined by a Compilation and Redaction Team of which Christian von Bar and Eric Clive were joint chairmen.

This is an interim outline edition of the Draft Common Frame of Reference on European Private Law submitted to the European Commission in December 2007. It consists of draft rules on contracts and other juridical acts, on obligations and coresponding rights to performance, on various specific contracts and the rights and obligations arising form them, on benevolent intervention in another's affairs, on non-contractual liability for damage caused to another and on unjustified enrichment.

Text (in the form of a draft code), comment and national notes on topics of European contract law - including plurality of debtors and creditors, assignation, substitution of a new debtor, transfer of contract, set-off, prescription, illegality, coditions and compound interest.

Written by a team of Scotland's leading academics, this is an invigorating edited collection dealing with the key issues in family law from a socio-legal and theoretical perspective. It broadens the study of family law beyond case law and legislation by engaging the reader in the current debates surrounding family law. It will be of interest to students, academics and family lawyers both in Scotland and abroad.

It may be helpful to think of termination of the contractual relationship under the Draft Common Frame of Reference as being similar to divorce in its objective, nature and effect on the relationship but dissimilar in its process, grounds and economic consequences. The article explores the parallels and divergences. It also discusses the DCFR's provisions on termination in the light of criticisms of the equivalent provisions in the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) by French scholars and in the light of recent official French proposals for reform. It concludes that many of the criticisms justifiably made of the PECL provisions do not apply to the DCFR provisions.

An analysis of the main differences between the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) and the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL). Introduction; the seven PECL articles omitted from the DCFR; new material in Books IV to X of the DCFR; Acquis Group material in Books II and III; other new material in Books II and III; more definitions; expansion of some rules; verbal clarifications; other drafting changes; more transparent structure; expanded and updated national notes.

An introduction to the DCFR, background, time schedule, the interim outline edition, scope of DCFR, structure, relationship to Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and other instruments, some differences from PECL, criteria for assessment of DCFR, conclusion.

Responds to some points made by Professor Lindsay Farmer on the draft criminal code for Scotland

Proposes a simplification of the current United Kingdom rules on jurisdiction in matters relating to children - building on the rules in the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.

This article is the revised text of the fourth Wilson Memorial Lecture, delivered at the Old College, University of Edinburgh, on 17 December 1998. It argues that Acts of the Scottish Parliament (ASPs) need not be, and in some respects cannot be, the same in form and style as those of the United Kingdom Parliament. There is no point in going back to the form and style of pre-Union Acts of the Parliament of Scotland (APS), but there is a need for early consideration of such matters as the enacting formula, the short title, the long title, the extent provision and duration provisions. The form of Bills also needs to be considered before bad precedents become established. The main criterion should be the convenience of the ultimate users of the legislation. So far as style is concerned, the start of a new legislative tradition ought to boost existing trends towards simpler language and grammatical structures and more gender-neutral drafting. The powers of the Scottish Parliament would be well-suited to the enactment of codifying legislation.

Survey and analysis of this important new Convention

An analyis of the present law of Scotland on restraints on testamentary freedom and proposals for reform

The state of play on the question of codification of the criminal law of Scotland.

An assessment of the rules on interpretation of contracts in the Principles of European contract Law (PECL) and a comparison with the rules in Scottish and South African law

An analysis of the rules on interpretation of contracts and other juridical acts in Scottish and South African law and a comparison of those rules with the rules in the Principles of European Contract Law.

A comparative account of the law on remedies for breach of contract in Scotland and South Africa.

Towards a new European law on unjustified enrichment

An examination of the case for, the prospects for, and the difficulties of, codifying Scottish private law.

An examination of the drafting of the Principles of European Contract Law and an attempt to derive from it some lessons for future work on a draft European civil code

Considers questions of legal policy concerning marriage and heterosexual cohabitation. Should a modern law regulate marriage and cohabitation and, if so, how?

The doctrinal history of interpretaion of juridical acts in Scotland

Analysis of the Convention, including in particular some of the aspects which gave rise to difficulty in its negotiation

Analysis of Hague Convention of 1996 on jurisdiction, applicable law and the recognition and enforcement of judgments concerning children

Arguments for and against a Scottish civil code

Argues for a non-technical approach to the concept of habitual residence, concentrating on the requirements implicit in the two words "habitual" and "residence".

A plea for the complexity of overlapping rules in the Family Law Act 1986, Brussels II and the proposed EU Council Regulation to be replaced by a simpler system based on the Hague Convention on Children of 1996.