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Law and change: Scottish legal heroes
Law and change: Scottish legal heroes

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1 The Scottish legal system

Laws form the basis for regulating the society we live in, therefore legal systems tend to reflect the values and aspirations of the society within which they operate. The quotation below highlights the role and importance placed on the independent legal system within Scotland and helps illustrate how valued that independence is.

Scotland’s legal system is a vital public service. Each and every day it protects individual rights, settles day-to-day disputes, and ensures that crimes against person or property are punished. This strong and enduring system has been a cornerstone of Scottish life for centuries. Today, that proudly independent legal system is as important to our daily lives as it has ever been. Society is changing. Public scrutiny is high. The national and international context ever more complex and challenging. That is why it must continue to change and reform to better meet the challenges of modern laws and modern life.

Cathy Jamieson MSP Justice Minister, 2004 Factsheet on the legal system (Scottish Executive, 2004)

Figure 1 illustrates the range of the sources of law in contemporary Scotland. Many of these have their roots in history and you explore the historical sources and legal history of Scotland in subsequent weeks.

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Figure 1 Sources of law
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Figure 1 outlines the sources of law in Scotland. The figure is set out with one central circle with smaller circles leading from it. The central circle contains the words ‘Sources of Law in Scotland’. The smaller circles which have unbroken lines linking them to the main central circle all represent domestic sources of law. These include, historical sources (previous parliaments the institutional writers), the Scottish Parliament (primary and delegated legislation), the UK Parliament (primary and secondary legislation) and common law. The line with breaks in it goes to sources from outside the UK and to which the UK has incorporated by treaty. These include the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and EU. Figure 1 outline the sources of law and provides a visual summary of those sources.

Figure 1 Sources of law