Back to the Future? Judges, Politicians and the Constitution in the New Scotland
Back to the Future? Judges, Politicians and the Constitution in the New Scotland
This chapter gives a view for and of Scotland. It highlights the different constitutional status given to Convention rights under the Scotland Act 1998. These constitute absolute and non-negotiable limits on the powers of the Scottish government and the Scottish Parliament, limits which are to be enforced by and before the courts. This new constitutional position of judicial primacy has led to certain political tensions within Scotland which have become focused, in particular, on the UK Supreme Court when exercising its devolution jurisdiction. The consequent juridicalisation of (Scottish) politics has resulted in a certain politicisation of (Scots) law, and a new and uncertain marriage between Scottish political nationalism and the formerly depoliticised legal, ecclesiastical, and romantic nationalisms which had characterised Scotland since the 1707 Union.
Keywords: devolution, political constitution, legal constitutionalism, Scottish politics, Scottish public law, United Kingdom
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