Act of the Scottish Parliament
Charles III William, Duke of Rothesay Swinney government The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP Kate Forbes MSP Sixth session Alison Johnstone MSP Angela Constance MSP Dorothy Bain KC The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections Local elections Referendums Starmer ministry The Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP An act of the Scottish Parliament (Scottish Gaelic: Achd Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) is primary legislation made by the Scottish Parliament.
Once it is passed by the Scottish Parliament and receives royal assent, the bill becomes an act and is then a part of Scots Law.[1]: (ss.
28, 32, 36) A public bill is a bill which is introduced by a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), and which will deal with the general laws of Scotland, rather than the law as it applies to a single person or organisation.
For example, the National Trust for Scotland was created by act of Parliament in 1935, making its constitution part of the law.
These are bills to grant the statutory power to construct or alter works such as bridges, docks, roads, or tunnels, or the statutory power to compulsorily purchase or use land or buildings.
[1] The precise process is set out by the Parliament's standing orders, and varies slightly depending on how the bill is classified.
The DPLR, if it is involved, will also prepare a report on the necessity of conferring the power to create secondary legislation.
The Parliament may move to have a further report produced by the lead committee (either on the bill as a whole or on a specific part), or proceed to debate.
[22]: 9.7.7 Depending on the amendments submitted, it may be required to update the bill's supporting documents.
A passed bill may be challenged by the Advocate General for Scotland, the Lord Advocate, or the Attorney General, who can refer it under section 33 of the 1998 act to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom for review.
[1] The Supreme Court will then determine whether the bill is within the Parliament's legislative competence; before the UK left the European Union in 2020, it could also decide whether the bill was to be referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for review.
[21]: 2.95–2.100 For example, this occurred with the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill - the UNCRC bill was later modified and passed as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024.
Section 35 provides that such challenges must be on the grounds that the bill: is incompatible with international obligations; is incompatible with the interests of defence or national security; or deals with reserved matters and will have "an adverse effect on the operation of the law."
The final stage before a bill can be classed as an act is the receiving of royal assent – the approval of the monarch.
A bill is submitted for royal assent by the Presiding Officer, who may only do so after either waiting for the four-week statutory challenge period to expire or after receiving confirmation that no statutory challenge will be lodged.
[1][21]: 2.105 A bill receives royal assent through Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Scotland.
CHARLES THE THIRD by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Our other Realms and Territories King Head of the Commonwealth Defender of the Faith To Our trusty and well beloved the members of the Scottish Parliament.
FORASMUCH as various bills have been passed by the Scottish Parliament and have been submitted to Us for Our Royal Assent by the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament in accordance with the Scotland Act 1998 the short Titles of which bills are set forth in the Schedule hereto but those bills by virtue of the Scotland Act 1998 do not become acts of the Scottish Parliament nor have any effect in the Law without Our Royal Assent signified by Letters Patent under Our Scottish Seal (that is Our Seal appointed by the Treaty of Union to be kept and used in Scotland in place of the Great Seal of Scotland) signed with Our own hand and recorded in the Register of the Great Seal We have therefore caused these Our Letters Patent to be made and have signed them and by them do give Our Royal Assent to those bills COMMANDING ALSO the Keeper of Our Scottish Seal to seal these Our Letters with that Seal.
Once the Letters Patent are received and sealed, the bill becomes an act of the Scottish Parliament.
4) An act can be cited in a number of ways: by reference to its short title ("Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016"); by reference to its full number ("2016 asp 1"); or both ("Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 1)"), although the exact appearance of this type of citation generally depends on the style guide in use.[28]: (s.
5) [30][31] The enactment formula for acts of the Scottish Parliament is non-typical – unlike many others, it doesn't begin with a variation of the phrase "be it enacted..." or state from where the Parliament derives authority (a deity or the sovereign).
A division of a bill or act is a component, generally numbered, dealing with increasingly discrete topics, equivalent to the chapters of a book.
The main body matter of an act is divided into parts, then chapters, then sections, then subsections, then paragraphs, then sub- and sub-sub-paragraphs (or "heads").
For example, section 1 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 gives a general definition of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, while schedule 1 to that act gives more detail; and schedule 1 to the Budget (Scotland) Act 2016 sets out the purposes for which money will be allocated to the Scottish Government, and how much money will be allocated to those purposes.
Schedules are then divided into parts, then chapters, then paragraphs, and then sub-paragraphs in the same way as the sections of the main body of the act.
