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

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

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.

It's the Certainly Not Legal Advice Christmas Party and you're all invited! All the legal Christmas questions you never knew you wanted the answers to are right here. Join us for a magical Christmassy journey through the wonders of human body part ownership, the law on Turkey rationing and the fascinating law on Christmas Crackers as we see 2025 out with a bang!

Show Notes

The Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015

Grainger Plc & Ors v. Nicholson [2009] UKEAT 0219_09_0311 (3 November 2009)

House of Lords - Regina v. Secretary of State for Education and Employment and others (Respondents) ex parte Williamson (Appellant) and others

The Establishments (Christmas Turkeys) Order, 1948

Tinned Turkey - Hansard - UK Parliament

The Old Foodie: The Meals in Establishments Order (1948)

'Body Parts and Property' in Northern Lights: Essays in Private Law in Memory of Professor David Carey Miller

Rights of Personality, Property Rights and the Human Body in Scots Law | Edinburgh Law Review (paywall)

'Last Christmas' https://open.spotify.com/track/2FRnf9qhLbvw8fu4IBXx78?si=bcfcf97012f14095

A historic episode for Certainly Not Legal Advice as Hannah Mimiec stars in her first show as a regular co-presenter and the podcast receives its first ever email (at any rate, its first one which isn't unsolicited spam...). Following a round-up of the week's news, the team delve into a very special 'Song With a Law Reference in It' before Hannah takes the floor and presents a fascinating spotlight feature illustrating how the phenomenon known as 'The Drunk Men's Choir' neatly illustrates the nuances of copyright law as regards user created content. Alex and Duncan then discuss some incredibly boring - but, as it turns out, rather fascinating - legislation before examining a possible legal flaw in the favourite movie of many lawyers, 'A Few Good Men'.

After a round up of some of the week's news, Alex and Duncan are joined by yet another Celebrity Guest. This time its Ruaridh Cormack who joins us to talk about Mooting. The trio later discuss aspects of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East which was established following World War 2 and there is a Song With A Law Reference In It which is simply 'out of this world'...

Show Notes

University of Dundee Mooting Society site

University of Dundee Mooting Society (@dundeeunimooting) • Instagram photos and videos

Russian spy ship enters British waters and shines lasers at military pilots | Military | The Guardian

IHL Treaties - CCW Protocol (IV) on Blinding Laser Weapons, 1995

And finally… love it or hate it | Scottish Legal News

Judgement at Tokyo by Gary J. Bass | Waterstones

'Organ Variation' by Hans Zimmer, from the 'Interstellar' soundtrack:

https://open.spotify.com/track/6dkJvNZ7DJWzTFXv3KHmoT?si=1737d96c90434182

'Down Under' by Men at Work:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3ZZq9396zv8pcn5GYVhxUi?si=d3e99365d7264e3e

A very special episode this week as your hosts, Alex and Duncan are joined by celebrity guest Hannah Mimiec! A specialist in Law and Literature, Hannah launches the podcast’s newest feature, Orwell & Good, by explaining how licensing laws come into one of her favourite George Orwell articles. The discussion that follows covers many diverse subjects from women’s rights, social and cultural participation and the origin of laws relating to recreational drugs. Alex and Duncan also discuss some of the latest news and present another fascinating spotlight feature- this time it’s the Sale of Goods Act 1979!  

Links and Notes

The Moon Under Water | The Orwell Foundation

Sale of Goods Act 1893

Sale of Goods Act 1979

Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994

Consumer Rights Act 2015

Cases

Bernstein v Pamson Motors (Golders Green) Ltd [1987] 2 All ER 220

Esso Petroleum Co Ltd v Commissioners of Customs and Excise [1975] UKHL 4

Gardiner v Gray (1815) 4 Camp 144

Millars of Falkirk Limited v Turpie 1976 S.L.T. (Notes) 66

Re Moore & Co and Landauer & Co [1921] 2 KB 519

Rogers v Parish (Scarborough) Ltd [1987] QB 933                                      

Shine v General Guarantee Corpn [1988] 1 All ER 911

Smith v Hughes (1871) LR 6 QB 597

Articles and Books

Edward Bates, ‘Applying the appropriate statutory regime for implied terms about quality and fitness: the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015’, I.C.C.L.R. 2022, 33(6), 317-327

Robert Bradgate, Commercial Law, 3rd edition, Butterworths, 2000

Micahel Bridge, ‘Risk, property and bulk goods in international sales’ [1991] LMCLQ 52

Michael Bridge, ‘What is to be done about sale of goods?’, L.Q.R. 2003, 119(Apr), 173-177

Brian Clapham, ‘Caveat venditor!’, Arbitration 1996, 62(1), 50-52

Jordan English, ‘The nature of "promissory conditions"’, L.Q.R. 2021, 137(Oct), 630-657

W.C.H. Ervine, ‘Satisfactory quality: what does it mean?’, J.B.L. 2004, Nov, 684-703

Join Alex and Duncan for this spooktacular Halloween special episode of 'Certainly Not Legal Advice'! Your two hosts discuss the law relating to Witchcraft, discuss some terrifyingly spooky news, and explore The Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951.

There is also a Halloween themed 'Song with a Law Reference' and 'Law on Film' for you to enjoy. So, dim the lights, treat yourself to a cup of your favourite hot drink and settle in for a 'frighteningly' long episode of 'Certainly Not Legal Advice'!

Links

Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951

In this episode, Alex and Duncan discuss the policing of crimes committed by autonomous vehicles, explore the quasi-judicial hearing at the 'heart' of the 2023 movie, 'Oppenheimer', brave the savage garden that is 'Song With a Law Reference in It' and drive a number of salient points home in what is possibly the most controversial 'Very Boring Legislation' to date... There is also some digression from the main theme as the presenters discuss some of their favourite literature.

Links

The Formula 1 Regulations 2024:

fia_2024_formula_1_sporting_regulations_-_issue_1_-_2023-09-26.pdf

Savage Garden, 'To the Moon and Back': https://open.spotify.com/track/6FRtjadDsEhZIQIlh1loEM?si=a4f8e2bc82d64302