Week 3: Law making processes in the Scottish Parliament
Introduction
In this week you consider the legislative powers (law making) of the Scottish Parliament and the procedures that Bills have to go through before they become law. A Bill is a draft Act. If the Bill is passed it is enacted and becomes an Act and part of legislation.
Before devolution, all Bills affecting Scotland were introduced in, and subject to the procedures of, the UK Parliament. Some of those Bills were limited in extent to Scotland, while others applied to the whole of the UK (although often with some distinct provisions applicable only to Scotland).
By the end of this week you should be able to:
- explain the different types of Bills
- describe the stages in the law making process of the Scottish Parliament
- explain the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.
Figure 1 Map of the four nations that make up the UK