The consequences of ‘Brexit’ for the UK and Scotland’s constitutional landscape

On 29 March 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May notified the European Commission of the United Kingdom’s intention to withdraw from the European Union, thereby invoking the procedure under article 50 Treaty on the European Union (TEU). This historic moment was preceded by a referendum, held on 23 June 2016 in which 51.9 percent of the electorate voted for a British exit from the EU (“Brexit”), and a battle that ended before the Supreme Court in R (on the application of Miller and Dos Santos) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union over whether the British government was required to seek the authorisation of the British Parliament to “trigger article 50 TEU”.

While negotiations take place on a regular basis between the United Kingdom and the European Union, there is a parallel constitutional drama that is continuing to unfold in the country between the British and Scottish governments. This drama consists of two elements: the political, and the legal.