How (Not) to Break Up: Constituent Power and Alternative Pathways to Scottish Independence


Type
Article
Change log
Authors
Stark, Shona 
Abstract

In October 2022, the UK Supreme Court unanimously held that the Scottish Parliament lacks the power to legislate for a second referendum on Scottish independence (Indyref 2) absent an enabling Order by the UK government under section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998. With no such Order forthcoming, alternative pathways to Indyref 2 are being investigated. In this article, we ex-amine two such potential pathways—a plebiscitary election and an unauthorised referendum—through the lens of constituent power. We argue that both pathways are theoretically available if one accepts (as we argue) that the Scottish people is the bearer of constituent power. However, we conclude that there are significant obstacles dotting both potential pathways, and as such the only feasible route to internationally recognised statehood for Scotland is via political negotiation.

Description
Keywords
Journal Title
Oxford Journal of Legal Studies
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
0143-6503
Volume Title
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publisher DOI
Publisher URL
Sponsorship
Swiss National Science Foundation