‘In a ruling that will disappoint LGBTQ+ campaigners and offers a boost to Rishi Sunak at the end of a difficult week, Lady Haldane rejected the Scottish government’s petition to rule the UK government’s section 35 veto – contained in the 1998 Scotland Act, which created the devolved parliament – as unlawful.’
The Guardian, 8th December 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘With the publication of Labour’s Commission on the UK’s Future it is worth contrasting the approach that Gordon Brown and his colleagues have taken with the very successful devolutionary legacy of Donald Dewar.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 8th February 2023
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Abortion in Northern Ireland has had a fraught and frequently distressing history. Until 2019 when the UK Parliament reformed the law, the jurisdiction had the most restrictive approach to abortion in the UK. But even this reform has not reformed the reality, either for those seeking abortion services or information and counselling on such services or for those who work at providers of such services lawfully. I have previously written about the situation as it stood in March 2021, and the reality has changed little since then, with two notable exceptions. In March 2022, the Northern Ireland Assembly passed the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill (Northern Ireland) (“SAZ Bill”) to create buffer zones around lawful abortion providers, in an attempt to criminalise the harassment and intimidation of people who seek or work in such places. On 2 December 2022, tired of the glacial pace and political controversy in commissioning abortion services, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland moved to commission such services himself. In the interim, the Attorney General for Northern Ireland (“AGNI”) referred the SAZ Bill to the UK Supreme Court to determine whether it was lawful.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 14th December 2022
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘At paras 56-57 of their judgment, the court in Reference by the Lord Advocate of devolution issues ([2022] UKSC 31) declared: “The central issue is whether legislation for a referendum on Scottish independence would relate to a reserved matter…. The critical question is accordingly whether the proposed Bill would relate to the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England or the Parliament of the United Kingdom”.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 29th November 2022
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The Scottish Government drafted a Scottish Independence Referendum Bill which makes provision for a referendum on the question, “Should Scotland be an independent country?”. Under the Scotland Act 1998 (“the Scotland Act”), the power of the Scottish Parliament to make legislation (or its “legislative competence”) is limited. A provision of a Bill will be outside the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament and therefore not law if it relates to the matters which have been reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament in Westminster (sections 29(1) and (2)(b)). These reserved matters include “the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England” and “the Parliament of the United Kingdom” (Schedule 5, paragraphs 1(b) and (c)).’
UKSC Blog, 23rd November 2022
Source: ukscblog.com
‘The Scottish parliament cannot hold a second independence referendum without Westminster approval, the UK supreme court has ruled, in a unanimous judgment likely to anger Scottish nationalists who say the country’s future is for Scottish voters to decide.’
The Guardian, 23rd November 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘All you need to know about decision on whether Scotland can hold new referendum without Westminster approval.’
The Guardian, 23rd November 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Supreme Court will deliver its judgement next Wednesday on whether the Scottish Parliament can hold a second independence referendum without Westminster’s approval.’
BBC News, 16th November 2022
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Supreme Court’s judgment on the legality of a Scottish independence referendum could be provided within six to eight weeks, its former deputy president has said.’
The Independent, 9th October 2022
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The UK government has submitted its argument in a case that could allow the Scottish Parliament to legislate for another independence referendum.’
BBC News, 9th August 2022
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The UK’s territorial constitution is, at present, under a great deal of pressure. Those familiar with one force unsettling the devolution framework — the attempts to override the Northern Ireland Protocol — will no doubt recall the legislation that first countenanced a similar approach: the UK Internal Market Act 2020 (UKIMA). This piece of legislation is, however, once again causing its own stir, this time in the form of a clash between Scottish and UK ministers over gene-editing regulations.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 4th July 2022
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The relationship between the Scotland Act 1998 (“the SA”), Convention rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 (“the HRA”) is well known.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 5th July 2022
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill (Northern Ireland) has been referred to the UK Supreme Court. We explain why, and how a bill reference works.’
House of Commons Library , 4th July 2022
Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk
‘R (on the Application of the Counsel General for Wales) v Secretary of State for business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2022] EWCA Civ 118. The Court of Appeal decision handed down on 9th February 2022 is an important case concerning devolved powers.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd March 2022
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Judges at the Supreme Court have ruled that provisions in two bills passed by MSPs were beyond Holyrood’s powers.’
BBC News, 7th October 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Scottish and UK governments are to face off at the Supreme Court over whether two bills passed by MSPs are within Holyrood’s powers.’
BBC News, 28th June 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The United Kingdom Internal Market Act has become law, receiving Royal Assent shortly before MPs and Lords departed the Palace of Westminster for the holidays. The controversial provisions in Part 5 conflicting with the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol – previously discussed by me here – have been removed following the outcome of a meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee that resolved – at least for the moment – outstanding issues in the practical implementation of the Protocol.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th December 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘This appeal arose as a result of an application made by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Act 1998, Schedule 10 paragraph 34. Paragraph 34 provides that the Attorney General may refer to the Supreme Court any devolution issue which is not the subject of proceedings. A devolution issue includes a question whether a purported exercise of a function by a Northern Ireland Department is or would be invalid by reason the 1998 Act, s.24. S. 24(1)(a) provides that a Department of Northern Ireland has no power to make, confirm or approve any subordinate legislation, or to do any act, so far as the legislation or act is incompatible with any of the rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.’
UKSC Blog, 5th February 2020
Source: ukscblog.com
‘On 10 October 2018, the UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd [2018] UKSC 49, sparking much debate and commentary. The judgment is legally important for how it conceptualises freedom of expression, and for the surprising evidence of judicial overreaching it contains. Given that others have already considered the former issue in some depth (see Chandrachud and Rowbottom on this blog alone), we focus on the latter in this post.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th October 2018
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The UK government has launched a legal challenge to the Scottish and Welsh governments’ Brexit bills. The two devolved parliaments passed legislation last month that is intended to act as an alternative to Westminster’s EU Withdrawal Bill. But the UK government has asked the Supreme Court to rule whether the legislation is constitutional and within devolved powers.’
BBC News, 17th April 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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