Scottish Continuity Bill goes to Supreme Court

It’s taken a while to get here, but the legality of the Scottish continuity bill is finally being fought in open court rather than by politicians on Twitter.

This is one of the key side-debates of Brexit and will decide whether this power play from both sides has paid off.

Currently, there are some powers that are technically devolved to Scotland but which lie within the remit of European Union mandates. When Brexit occurs, these powers will need to be given back to the relevant parts of the UK Government.

The Scottish government and UK government are currently in disagreement about how this should be executed. The two governments agree in principle that the powers should be devolved. However, the UK government wants to outline the frameworks of administration and argues that, if an agreement is not reached, the UK government should control the powers. The Scottish government wants a say in how the frameworks are made and then to have carte blanche over how they are administered.

If the Scottish government win, this case will provide pretty considerable precedent for the Scottish government to legislate on a range of issues without UK consent.

The case is supposed to take a few weeks and will hear arguments from a range of experts and legal officers from across the country. All eyes on the Supreme Court once again.