The pre-enactment legislative review process in Scotland

This article will consider the stages of the Scottish Parliament’s pre-enactment legislative review process under the Scotland Act 1998, including stages of review by governmental, parliamentary and legal officials as well as by the courts. It will consider these stages in turn, commenting on each generally as well as the specific experience of those Bills that have sought to incorporate international law in Scotland: those which led to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 and the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021, and the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill. This new analysis is important and timely, given the anticipated Scottish Human Rights Bill will need to progress through these stages and navigate the challenges associated with this.