Certainly Not Legal Advice

Wishing our listeners all the best for the new year and some updates too on what the podcast has in store for 2026! In short it'll have some of the old and plenty of the new...
Many thanks to you all for listening and we look forward to bringing you more news, more songs with law references in them, more laws on film and a host of exciting new features to boot in 2026.

The first episode of the 'new look' Certainly Not Legal Advice podcast for 2026 kicks off with the latest news, specifically, the developments surrounding the status of Greenland and a curious case involving lawn maintenance from Canada. Rupert Williams, a language for law specialist at the University of Dundee also joins us for a fascinating episode of 'Orwell and Good' where he discusses legal aspects of his new book, 'Meandering Sweet: Walking up the River Tay', which comes highly recommended (see below for the Amazon link). Hold on to your hats for what comes next, as Duncan takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the Railways Bill 2025 for the Certainly Not Legal Advice Spotlight. The show closes with the first 'Song with a Law Reference in It' for 2026 which is 'Twistin' in the Wind' by David Byrne, formally of 'Talking Heads'.
 
 
News
 
Jacques Hartmann: Trump’s Greenland demands threaten international legal order | Scottish Legal News
 
And finally… in the weeds | Scottish Legal News
 
Rupert's Book
 
Meandering Sweet: Walking up the River Tay : Williams, Rupert: Amazon.co.uk: Books
 
Spotlight
 
The Railways Bill 2025 
Railways Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament
 
Song with a Law Reference in It
 
David Byrne, 'Twistin' in the Wind'
Twistin' in the Wind - song and lyrics by David Byrne | Spotify
 
Other
 
Oscillate Wildly - 2011 Remaster - song and lyrics by The Smiths | Spotify
 
Intro and Outro Music
 
Alex Simmonds, 'Commercial Street'
https://open.spotify.com/track/3IjJu9DIUL3XIM9entdfoh?si=d61de34356a44eb7
 
Alex Simmonds, 'Making Plans'
https://open.spotify.com/track/1W7NX9BBlzb0ShnsEBjZS8?si=9e7d9743ff8c4470
 

In this episode we get to grips with the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill 2025, discuss the limits of consent in respect of body modification and space tourism, discover the law on name-changes through the lens of 'A Boy Named Sue' by Johnny Cash / Shel Silverstein, and discuss the legal position on stolen cultural artefacts during war time as portrayed in the movie 'Woman in Gold'.
Rupert Williams also returns to the airwaves to discuss his latest article, "Teaching for Language and Law: How and Why?" in the Edinburgh Law Review, and Alex, Duncan and Hannah undertake a long overdue forensic examination of The Salad Cream Regulations 1966.
 
Rupert Williams Latest Article
Teaching Language for Law: How and Why? | Edinburgh Law Review
 
The News
Ecocide (Scotland) Bill | Scottish Parliament Website
Holyrood backs crackdown on botox and non-surgical cosmetic procedures | Scottish Legal News
(case discussed here: R v Brown [1993] UKHL 19 (11 March 1993))
And finally… short-tempered | Scottish Legal News
 
Song With a Law Reference in It
Johnny Cash 'A Boy Named Sue' https://open.spotify.com/track/1YjIjip6wBvtSUlmci3XCj?si=7ab5ed9d8974448a
 
Very Boring Legislation
The Salad Cream Regulations 1966
 
Music
Intro - Alex Simmonds, 'Commercial Street' https://open.spotify.com/track/3IjJu9DIUL3XIM9entdfoh?si=6caa3cef03ee4fe8
Outro - Alex Simmonds, 'Making Plans'
https://open.spotify.com/track/1W7NX9BBlzb0ShnsEBjZS8?si=3907deb41e994670
 
 
 
 

According to our Celebrity Guest Andrew Savage this week, the podcast was exactly a year and a day old on the day of recording... whilst we may have missed the chance to do a special feature on the old 'year and a day' rule as it applied to murder in England and Wales, we nevertheless have a jam-packed show. First, there is some inevitable discussion of the week's news regarding the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor regarding allegations that he strenuously denies before Billy Connolly makes his 'Law on Film' debut as 'The Man Who Sued God'. Next we fire up the time machine as we head to ancient Rome to discuss Roman contract law in the debut of our new feature, 'Ancient Law', before returning swiftly to the present for a spotlight on the reforms to qualification periods in unfair dismissal cases with our Celebrity Guest Andrew Savage.
 
Links
Dairy UK (Ltd) v Oatly
Dairy UK Ltd (Respondent) v Oatly AB (Appellant) - UK Supreme Court
 
Scottish Legal News: A top City of London banker has admitted to systematically dodging rail fares for nearly a year – saving himself £6,000 in the process.
And finally… mind the gap | Scottish Legal News
 
The Employment Rights Act 2025:
https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3737
 
Intro Music
 
'Commercial Street' by Alex Simmonds
https://open.spotify.com/track/3IjJu9DIUL3XIM9entdfoh?si=65973b8b09d34389
 
Outro Music
 
'Making Plans' by Alex Simmonds
https://open.spotify.com/track/1W7NX9BBlzb0ShnsEBjZS8?si=030d50f62cba4cb7
 

Join Alex, Duncan and Hannah for yet another (belated- apologies, things have been very busy!) instalment of everybody's favourite law podcast, Certainly Not Legal Advice! In this episode we discuss whether a specific law against stealing dogs is really necessary, explore some of the nuances of the assisted dying law in Jersey, discover some of the legal facets of the movie, 'Alien: Romulus' and unearth a legally sinister aspect of The Plugs and Sockets etc (Safety) Regulations 1994. We are then joined in the studio by Celebrity Guests Emma Bell and Olivia McMurtie to talk about Dundee Law School's recent victory in the Lord Jones Moot in addition to all things mooting-related...
 
News
 
Dundee University wins Lord Jones Moot on 10th anniversary | Scottish Legal News
 
Dog Theft (Scotland) Bill | Scottish Parliament Website
 
Assisted dying in Jersey
 
Law on Film
 
Alien Romulus Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/OzY2r2JXsDM?si=xm81QE3sWkKOCwNW
 
Very Boring Legislation
 
The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994
 
Link to British Standard 1363 - BS 1363-1:2023 - TC | 30 Jun 2023 | BSI Knowledge
 
Music
 
Intro: 'Commercial Street', Alex Simmonds
https://open.spotify.com/track/3IjJu9DIUL3XIM9entdfoh?si=93005664d3c1484c
 
Outro: 'Making Plans', Alex Simmonds
https://open.spotify.com/track/1W7NX9BBlzb0ShnsEBjZS8?si=6793a50870584fe8
 
Certainly Not Legal Advice Spotlight: 'No Added Sugar', Alex Simmonds
https://open.spotify.com/track/0wsi89cklND4dQ7DbRUY6i?si=0d0f6549bf334a63
 
Very Boring Legislation: 'Depth of Field', Alex Simmonds
https://open.spotify.com/track/4sC9vLLJNisB4KajQMBMJr?si=de147ef93fdc44ff

In this episode of everybody's favourite Law podcast we have an extended 'News' bulletin in which we discuss some of the law relating to the Artemis II Mission (at the time of recording the astronauts were in Earth orbit),  explore some responses to a recent survey about public transport, consider the legalities of modifying a car interior with drug paraphernalia and chat about Art theft. There is then the first of hopefully many 'Spotlights' on the historic Nuremberg trials, masterfully presented by Duncan and Ruaridh. Finally, Hannah tells us about one of her favourite murder mysteries ('Knives Out') and how it illustrates the 'slayer rule' in succession cases. 
 
Show Notes
 
News
 
Artemis 2 launch: space is one giant leap for lawmakers | Scottish Legal News
 
Interstellar Ramadan - The New York Times
 
Your Bus Journey - the independent bus user survey - 2025 results - Transport Focus
 
Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse art among items stolen in Italian job - BBC News
 
And finally… pipe dream | Scottish Legal News
 
Spotlight on Nuremberg
 
Books:
 
Alexander Macdonald, The Nuremberg Trials: The Nazis brought to justice
 
James Owen, Nuremberg: Evil on Trial 
 
Footage shown during trials as reported by Ruaridh (WARNING: Distressing Scenes) File:Nazi Concentration Camps.webm - Wikipedia
 
Law on Film
 
'Knives Out' trailer: 
https://youtu.be/qGqiHJTsRkQ?si=sJiq_vVopkcTJjjy
 
Music
 
Intro / News: Alex Simmonds 'Commercial Street'
https://open.spotify.com/track/3IjJu9DIUL3XIM9entdfoh?si=d86945afdfc94e94
 
Outro: Alex Simmonds, 'Making Plans'
https://open.spotify.com/track/1W7NX9BBlzb0ShnsEBjZS8?si=c04ba91941a64a15
 
Spotlight: Alex Simmonds, 'No Added Sugar'
https://open.spotify.com/track/0wsi89cklND4dQ7DbRUY6i?si=eeb72505ff6d4a84