Normal Consent: Legislative Consent Motions in the Scottish Parliament

TY - JOUR

T1 - Normal Consent

T2 - Legislative Consent Motions in the Scottish Parliament

AU - Reid, Colin T.

PY - 2026/6/29

Y1 - 2026/6/29

N2 - Under the Scottish devolution settlement, the UK Parliament, although legally empowered to do so, will not normally legislate for devolved matters without the consent of the Scottish Parliament. This paper explores how the question of consent has been handled by looking at four years of practice at Holyrood. Varied levels of collaboration or tension are revealed, with some consistent concerns, procedural challenges and varied reasons of policy or practicality influencing the attitude to consent. One feature is the extent to which the process is driven by the two governments, rather than being a matter directly between the parliaments.

AB - Under the Scottish devolution settlement, the UK Parliament, although legally empowered to do so, will not normally legislate for devolved matters without the consent of the Scottish Parliament. This paper explores how the question of consent has been handled by looking at four years of practice at Holyrood. Varied levels of collaboration or tension are revealed, with some consistent concerns, procedural challenges and varied reasons of policy or practicality influencing the attitude to consent. One feature is the extent to which the process is driven by the two governments, rather than being a matter directly between the parliaments.

UR - https://www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk/en-gb/products/juridical-review-the-law-journal-of-the-scottish-universities-journal-and-ejournal-subscription-30928232

M3 - Article

SN - 0022-6785

JO - Juridical Review

JF - Juridical Review

IS - 2

ER -