1 April 2012 marked the centenary of the foundation of the Scottish Land Court, brought into existence by the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act 1911 which extended crofting to the whole of Scotland. To celebrate the 100 years Avizandum Publishing Ltd has published “No Ordinary Court” a collection of essays reflecting the history of the court. Sir Crispin Agnew QC contributed the chapter on the “Agricultural Holdings Jurisdiction of the Land Court” and there is also a chapter by Lord McGhie, a former member of the Westwater stable, and presently the Chairman of the Land Court, on the “Gibson Years”.
At the request of the Dean, on 8 May Sir Crispin met with Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, to brief Mr Scott on the agricultural subsidy penalties regimes. The pair had a discussion for over an hour on the difficulties faced by farmers and crofters in their subsidy applications and Sir Crispin provided Mr Scott with the relevant EC Regulations and Land Court decisions for his consideration.