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Entries for January 2014

Laura Cram: When Push Comes to Shove: Context and Continuity in Scotland-EU Relations

Crisis and change make for more dramatic reading than continuity. Black and white scenarios are often politically expedient. But the seasoned EU observer is more familiar with the various shades of grey which characterise the complex and multiple relationships between the EU: and its member states; its neighbouring states and even not-so-near states; and of course with applicant and accession states at various stages of membership readiness.

 

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Jill Stavert: Scotland's Future and the Vagaries of Socio-Economic Rights Protection

Whilst the Scottish Government White Paper Scotland’s Future can be regarded as aspirational what it is lacking, in some respects, is legal and practical detail and, of course, the devil is always in the detail. One of the areas that would benefit from more specific input is that of social and economic rights.

 

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Andrew Campbell: Currency Choices and Scottish Independence

The debate about the currency is now well underway in Scotland, although not as yet in the rest of the United Kingdom (UK) and so far most of the current contributors are paying little or no attention to the legal issues. Instead , they are mostly focusing on a combination of economic discussion and some wishful thinking.

 

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Nick Barber: After the Vote

At 650 pages Scotland’s Future  is not a light read.  It stands as the Scottish Government’s manifesto for a yes vote in the independence referendum.  The volume ranges from profoundly important questions relating to currency and Scotland’s membership of the European Union, right down to weather-forecasting and the future of the National Lottery.  Though it is likely many copies of Scotland’s Future will be printed, it is unlikely many will be read from cover to cover.  Its authors probably do not regret its length: by its very heft, the volume seeks to rebut claims that the consequences of independence have not been carefully thought through.  This post considers the immediate constitutional consequences of a yes vote in light of Scotland’s Future.  Its central argument will be that the timescale proposed by the Scottish Government for independence following a referendum is unrealistic, and may work against the interests of an independent Scotland.

 

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Ewan Sutherland: Regulating the Media in an Independent Scotland

The white paper on Scotland’s Future (the “prospectus”) is silent on the subject of the regulation of magazines, newspapers, radio and television, almost as if the relevant sections had been removed.

 

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