Scotland Act 1998: Difference between revisions

|amends=[[Act of Settlement 1701]], [[United Nations Act 1946]]

The '''Scotland Act 1998''' '''(c. 46)''' is an [[Act of Parliament|Act]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] which legislated for the establishment of the [[Devolution|devolved]] [[Scottish Parliament]] with tax varying powers and the [[Scottish Government]] (then Scottish Executive). It was one of the most significant constitutional pieces of legislation to be passed by the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|UK Parliament]] between the passing of the [[European Communities Act 1972 (UK)|European Communities Act]] in 1972 and the [[European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018| European Union (Withdrawal) Act]] in 2018 and is the most significant piece of legislation to affect [[Scotland]] since the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union in 1707]] which ratified the [[Treaty of Union]] and led to the disbandment of the [[Parliament of Scotland]].

The Act was introduced by the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government in 1998 to give effect to the [[1997 Scottish devolution referendum|Scottish devolution referendum in 1997]] which showed that Scotland was in favour of both of the set questions, firstly for the creation of a [[parliament]] for [[Scotland]] and secondly, that this parliament should have tax varying powers.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12283597.There_shall_be_a_Scottish_Parliament_Consensus/ |title=There shall be a Scottish Parliament Consensus |first1=Murray |last1=Ritchie |first2=Robbie |last2=Dinwoodie |work=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |date=19 December 1997 |access-date=17 January 2017}}</ref> The Act creates the [[Scottish Parliament]], sets out how [[Member of the Scottish Parliament|Members of the Scottish Parliament]] are to be elected,<ref>Sections 1 to 18.</ref> makes some provision about the internal operation of the Parliament<ref>Sections 19 to 27, 39 to 43.</ref> (although many issues are left for the Parliament itself to regulate) and sets out the process for the Parliament to consider and pass Bills which become [[Act of the Scottish Parliament|Acts of the Scottish Parliament]] once they receive [[royal assent]].<ref>Sections 28 to 36.</ref> The Act specifically declares the continued power of the UK Parliament to legislate in respect of Scotland;<ref>Section 28(7).</ref> thereby upholding the concept of Westminster's absolute [[Parliamentaryparliamentary sovereignty]].

The Act also provides for the creation of a 'Scottish Executive'<ref>Section 44.</ref> though one of the early actions of the [[First Salmond government|SNP administration]] that won power in the [[2007 Scottish Parliament election|2007 elections]] was to rebrand the Scottish Executive, as the group of Ministers and their civil servants had been known, as the [[Scottish Government]]. Despite the re-branding, the 'Scottish Executive' still uses the original description for a number of purposes (s.44 of the Scotland Act defines the nature of the body but does not use the words "shall be known as" with regard to a name as is the case with various other bodies whose names are thus fixed by statute). It consists of a [[First Minister of Scotland|First Minister]] and other Ministers appointed by the KingMonarch with the approval of the Parliament, including the [[Lord Advocate]] and the [[Solicitor General for Scotland]].

The Act also sets up mechanisms to resolve disputes over questions about legislative competence of the Parliament and powers of the Executive. The ultimate appeal in such matters lies to the [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom]] (prior to 1 October 2009, the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]]).<ref>Sections 32, 33, 103, and Schedule 6; and [[Constitutional Reform Act 2005]], section 40 and Schedule 9</ref> In exceptional circumstances, theThe Westminster government can unilaterally prohibit an Act of the Scottish Parliament&nbsp;— even if legislatively competent — from receiving royal assent if it believes the law would affect matters of reserved law; this provision has been only used once, to veto the [[Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-17 |title=Scotland gender recognition bill: what is a section 35 order? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/17/scotland-gender-recognition-bill-what-is-a-section-35-order |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

The Act also allows the powers of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive to be adjusted over time by agreement between both Parliamentsparliaments by means of an [[Order in Council]].<ref>Sections 30 and 63.</ref>

{{Scottish devolution}}{{UK legislation}}