Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill 2018, colloquially known as Continuity Bill within the Scottish Parliament or the EU Continuity Bill within Scotland, provided for all matters devolved under the Scotland Act 1998 and subsequent legislation that are currently under the control of the European Union, to be repatriated to the Scottish Parliament upon 'exit day'.
It was referred to as the Scottish EU Continuity Bill outwith Scotland, was a passed legislative bill by the Scottish Parliament with a stated view to prepare devolved elements of Scots law in view of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.
The Law Officers asked the Supreme Court for a ruling on whether this legislation is within devolved legislative powers.On 13 December 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that only section 17 of the bill would have been outwith the legal competence of the Scottish Parliament under the Scotland Act 1998 at the time of its passage.
The (UK) Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell, said the court had "provided much-needed legal clarity" that the bill "goes beyond the powers of the Scottish Parliament".
But Scotland's Brexit Secretary Michael Russell argued that the UK government had "changed the rules of the game midway through the match" in an "act of constitutional vandalism".