"A True European",[6] a collection of essays for Sir David Edward, was published on his retirement, including "Tales from the Tartan Chambers".

[13] Edward was awarded the Distinguished Cross First Class of the Order of St. Raymond of Peñafort by the newly-restored Kingdom of Spain in 1979, and in 2012 the Republic of France appointed him Officer of the Legion of Honour (Officier de la Légion d'honneur) and Knight (Chevalier) of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

[14] Edward was a member of the Commission on Scottish Devolution[15] chaired by Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, Chancellor of the University of Glasgow.

[16] Edward published an influential analysis of the position in European Union law if there were a vote in favour of Scottish independence in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum[17] as well as an opinion on Scotland's position in the European Union in a 2013/14 memorial to fellow jurist, Lord Rodger of Earlsferry,[18] and a 2014 lecture on the "Constitutional Implications of the Independence Referendum"[19] to the Centre for Global Constitutionalism at the University of St Andrews.. On 8 March 2013, Sir David delivered the Europa Institute/UACES Lecture, at the University of Edinburgh, on "The Moral Case for Europe".

[20] Since 2016 he has spoken and written about the negative impact of UK withdrawal from the EU on legal standards, human and employment rights, and Scots law.