Supreme Court judgment on independence referendum bill

Following the Supreme Court judgment today, Wednesday, 23 November 2022, that a Bill providing for a Scottish independence referendum is not within the competence of the Scottish Parliament, Murray Etherington, President of the Law Society of Scotland commented:

“Today’s judgment provides definitive clarification on the law.

“Any referendum on Scottish independence must be lawful to ensure the outcome is clear and unambiguous.

“The Supreme Court judges have held that a referendum on Scottish independence relates to the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England and the sovereignty of the UK Parliament so is a matter which is reserved to Westminster. The Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for the referendum unless that power is extended by a statutory order under section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 or otherwise.”