The Scottish Parliament: Law and Practice

This textbook gives students a rigorous introduction to the powers of the Scottish Parliament: how it makes laws, how it holds the Scottish Government to account and how its legislation and its actions can be scrutinised and challenged. Fully updated in light of the 2012 and 2016 Scotland Acts and the Independence and Brexit referenda, it looks at how Scotland is governed now and what the future holds for the constitutional relationship between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

This book is essential reading for students of Scots law, legal systems, politics and public policy, as well as legal and political professionals who need an up-to-date guide to how Holyrood works.

Key Features

• Explains how the Scottish Parliament and devolved government work in practice
• Analyses how the Scottish Parliament’s legislation can be challenged, and sets out the major cases since it was reconvened in 1999
• Explains the historical background to Scottish devolution
• Takes a detailed look at how relations between Scotland and the rest of the UK have developed under devolution
• Anticipates how law and government might change in the future, particularly after Brexit

New for this Edition

• Includes extensive new material to take account of constitutional, legal and political developments since 2010
• Incorporates the considerable extension of devolution, new case law, a description of the new financial powers of the Scottish Parliament and the Scotland Acts of 2012 and 2016
• Considers the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, and the 2016 referendum on UK membership of the EU