Category: Scotland’s Place in Europe

Implementation of Brexit in the UK

Darren Harvey LERU Brexit Seminar   Introduction In order to prepare the UK legal order for Brexit, the UK Government’s flagship piece of legislation, the EU Withdrawal Act 2018 (EUWA), received royal assent on 26th June 2018. The EUWA repeals the European Communities Act 1972 (ECA) on “exit day”, which is defined in section 20(1) …

Incorporating International Human Rights in a Devolved Context

Kasey McCall-Smith Brexit and Rights Engagement Network     International human rights treaties universally contain a call to States parties to give legal effect to the obligations found in the treaty text. Article 2(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, for example, obliges states ‘to adopt such laws or other measures as …

Criminal Cooperation, Brexit and the devolved nations: where are we and what is the way ahead?

Anni Pues Brexit and Rights Engagement Network     Brexit will bring to an end judicial and police cooperation between the UK and the EU as we know it. The UK government seeks to retain key elements through a specific ‘security treaty’. Its White Paper from July 2018 envisages that for the area of ‘internal …

Brexit’s Impact on Scotland: Devolution and Local Government

Serafin Pazos-Vidal In-Depth Analysis One fact not commonly understood in Scotland and the UK is the unique nature of Scottish devolution. Among the 60+ European Regions with Legislative Power (REGLEG), Scotland has a unique settlement in that the areas of powers of the Scottish Parliament have been devolved in full, by the Scotland Act 1998 …

The Great Repeal Bill and the Challenge of Bringing Laws Home

Tobias Lock The practical process of transposing all existing EU law into the UK legal system brings with it many detailed and essential items for decision, the volume of which will likely favour the executive, writes Tobias Lock. He argues that EU withdrawal looks set to have a significant impact on the devolution settlements, as …

Scotland’s Relationship with the EU after Brexit: Lessons from the Faroes

Jacques Hartmann The Faroe Islands set an important precedent for a part of a unitary state to establish differentiated relations with the EU, writes Jacques Hartmann. He argues that the Faroes potentially yield important lessons for Scotland on how to retain at least some benefits of EU membership, even after a hard Brexit. Tórshavn – …