Steven Thomson

As you will know, Scotland has its own legal system, distinct in many aspects from those which apply in other parts of the United Kingdom. While we can rightly be proud of many features of Scots law, we have occasionally looked enviously across the border at the rules relating to the signing of documents and thought that this was an area where we could learn a thing or two. 

We're often asked to advise our clients on option contracts.  As most of you will know, an option is an agreement  that gives one party the option to purchase property within a certain time period (or at a defined point in time) at a pre-agreed price.  Alternatively, there may be a mechanism put in place for determining the price on the date that the option is exercised.  There is often (but not always) a non-refundable payment made to the landowner as consideration for the granting of the option.

For purely selfish reasons, I've recently taken an interest in the law governing seagulls and property. A family of gulls has moved onto the flat roof above my tenement and for the last two months they've been the ornithological neighbours from hell. Even when they've decided to take a break from their blitzkrieg dive bombing campaign on residents and their hapless pets, their incessant squawking at all hours of the day and night is a constant reminder of our new noisy neighbours. And goodness knows what damage they're causing to the roof - we can't tell because no one can go up there without being attacked by the gulls aggressively protecting their nests.