Articles for author: Sionaidh Douglas-Scott

Whither, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

So, has the Charter come of age, now that it is nearing its quarter century, and has been binding in force for nearly 15 of those years. No longer is the Charter a “sleeping beauty”, and no longer are fundamental rights mere epiphenomena in EU law – offshoots framed in the amorphous category of “general principles of law” – creations of the EU’s earlier desire for legitimacy in its quest for greater integration. The EU Charter contains the essence of a common language, a currency that all can understand. And the EU is better with it than without it.

30. Oktober 2024

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A Second Scottish Independence Referendum in the UK Supreme Court

On October 11 and 12 an important case was argued in the UK Supreme Court over whether the Scottish Parliament has the competence to enact an independence referendum Bill. The Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, the principle Law Officer for the Scottish Government, brought a reference to the Supreme Court under the Scotland Act 1998 Schedule 6 paragraph 34. Even though the prospects for the case are unencouraging, an independence referendum is only one limb of the Scottish Government’s planned strategy for independence.

14. Oktober 2022

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Scotland, Brexit and Independence

The past month has been important for Brexit developments, with UK Prime Minister Johnson attempting a ‘last minute’ Brexit deal with the EU. In particular, arrangements concerning Northern Ireland have featured prominently. But now, all appears to have been set aside for a December UK general election. However, the UK is composed of four nations, and Scotland’s position in the UK union, often ignored in the Brexit context, now appears near to ‘tipping point’, especially after First Minister Sturgeon’s recent  confirmation that Scotland would hold an independence referendum in 2020.

2. November 2019

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Opinion 2/13 on EU accession to the ECHR: a Christmas bombshell from the European Court of Justice

On 18 December 2014, the ECJ delivered its long awaited Opinion 2/13 on the compatibility with EU law of the draft agreement for EU accession to the ECHR. The ECJ concluded, to the great surprise of many, that the accession agreement is not compatible with EU law. Indeed it found so many obstacles with the agreement that it has now rendered accession very difficult, if not impossible.

24. Dezember 2014

Scotland and the EU: Eleventh hour thoughts on a contested subject

Is the ‘spectre of disintegration’ haunting Europe? Joseph Weiler fears that it is, and that, were an independent Scotland to be admitted as an EU state, this would lead to a domino effect whereby others would demand independence within the EU – testimony of an atavistic, retrogressive mentality, and adverse to the EU’s raison d’etre. This is a strongly put view, and not all will agree with it. Nonetheless, most of the papers in this highly stimulating symposium address, albeit in very different ways, the concern that lies at the base of Weiler’s argument – namely, the character of the EU, the nature of its values, its very reason for being. They also address the more workaday, but nonetheless critical, legal and practical issues that an independent Scotland’s membership pose.

17. September 2014

Why the EU should welcome an independent Scotland

The comments below focus on the importance of an EU perspective on an independent Scotland’s EU membership, highlighting the EU as a distinctive, sui generis and new type of legal organisation. They argue that a strong case can be made for Scotland’s continued EU membership on the basis of EU law itself.

8. September 2014