Yesterday the UK Supreme Court has ruled that two bills passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament are outwith Holyrood‘s legislative competence - and the bills must be reconsidered before becoming law.

The judgment is a landmark development in recognising the legislative boundaries of devolution under the Scotland Act 1998, in relation to the Scottish Parliament’s ability to legislate where there is primary legislation from the UK Government.

General Counsel for Wales also participated in the case, given the relevance of the subject matter for all devolved administrations.

Both bills examined were intended to incorporate treaties ratified by the UK into Scots law; the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill (UNCRC Bill) and the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill (ECLSG Bill).

While the treaties were ratified some years ago, neither had been directly incorporated into domestic law (although various provisions of each are reflected in some aspects of domestic law).

The UNCRC is an international human rights treaty that creates and protects children’s rights, as well as creating certain safeguards to ensure these rights are upheld.

The ECLSG is an international treaty of the Council of Europe, which sets out standards for protecting the rights of local authorities and requires states which have ratified it to comply with a number of conditions, principles and practices.

The bills were brought before the UK Supreme Court to consider whether certain provisions were within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament under the Scotland Act, having been referred to the Court by the Attorney General and the Advocate General for Scotland.

The bills sought to incorporate the provisions of the treaties as a whole into Scots law, which was recognised by all parties as a matter for Parliament and not subject to judicial scrutiny.

The first provision to be examined provided that Acts of the UK Parliament "must be read and given effect in a way which is compatible with" the UNCRC, and separately the ECLSG.

The Bills also provided the Scottish courts with the power to declare that an Act of the UK Parliament is incompatible with the UNCRC, and separately the ECLSG.

The Court found that these provisions were outwith the competence of the Scottish Parliament as the power to interpret and scrutinise primary legislation passed by the UK Government is not in compliance with the Scotland Act 1998 - and therefore it is not possible for the Scottish Parliament to pass legislation which qualifies reserved powers.

The bills have therefore been returned to the Scottish Parliament for reconsideration.

The UNCRC Bill was introduced by the Scottish Government as part of its policy on human rights, and it remains to be seen what reconsideration will mean for this bill.

The ECLSG Bill was introduced by Andy Wightman, a former Green Party and then independent MSP, who is no longer in Parliament. An alternative Member of the Scottish Parliament will need to provide support for this member’s bill if it is to go any further.

The amendments required to bring the bills within the competence of the Scottish Parliament are likely to be limited, principally by limiting the provisions to Acts of the Scottish Parliament, rather than also applying to Acts of the UK Parliament; however the extent of the reconsideration will be determined by parliament.

The judgment had been highly-anticipated by constitutional lawyers and parliamentarians; this finding will be significant for future legislation and policy - including the much-discussed second independence referendum proposed by the SNP.

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