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Battle to save KOSBs moves to Glasgow
IAN BRUCE,
Defence Correspondent
Glasgow Herald
March 1 2006
THE landmark constitutional battle to save one of Scotland's oldest infantry regiments from disbandment moves to Glasgow next week after a year of legal wrangling at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
The case, brought by veterans of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, hinges on the fact that the regiment was raised by act of an independent Scottish parliament eight years before the Union of the Crowns in 1707, and challenges the right of a Westminster government to alter its status.
The KOSB is due to become a temporary component battalion of the new Royal Regiment of Scotland on March 28 under radical restructuring plans for the Army, before a final merger with the Royal Scots on August 1.
Glasgow's sheriff-principal has been asked to deliver a judicial finding on the competence of the sheriff court system to handle the case, after his Edinburgh counterpart, Edward Bowen, cited acquaintance with the KOSB's lawyer and withdrew on the grounds of possible conflict of interest.
If sheriff-principal James A Taylor rules the case cannot be heard under a sheriff's jurisdiction, the next stage would be the Court of Session.
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