Table of Contents

1 Introduction 2 Scotland – nation and state 3 Institutions – the constitutional background 4 Institutions – courts, tribunals, judges and procedure 5 Sources of law 6 Legislation – European Union law 7 Legislation – United Kingdom Parliamentary legislation (including the Human Rights Act 1998) 8 Legislation – Acts of the Scottish Parliament 9 Legislation – United Kingdom delegated legislation 10 Legislation – Scottish delegated legislation 11 Legislation – application, construction and interpretation: statutory interpretation 12 Precedent – ratio decidendi, obiter dicta and stare decisis 13 Precedent – law reports 14 Legal services 15 Law reform Appendix 1 A note on the nature of rules Appendix 2 Scottish Courts (simplified) English and Welsh Courts (simplified) Northern Ireland Courts (simplified) Appendix 3 ‘Europe’

Promotional Information

This well established text provides an up-to-date treatment of all significant developments affecting the Scottish legal system. It is an invaluable introduction for students and anyone with an interest in the Scottish legal system.

About the Author

Megan Dewart is Law Clerk to Lord Carloway Lord President and is a tutor in law at Edinburgh University.