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The Scottish Parliament and law making

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This free course, The Scottish Parliament and law making, explores the law making powers of the Scottish Parliament and examines its place in the UK’s constitution. It considers how, and why, laws are made by both the Scottish and UK Parliaments before exploring devolved matters, reserved matters, legislative competence, secondary legislation, and the work of MSPs and MPs. It discusses the characteristics of the constitution, the importance of the concept of the rule of law, how an Act of Parliament is structured and considers how and why members of the public are encouraged to become involved with the work of the Scottish Parliament.

Transcript

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Learning outcomes

After completing this course, you will be able to:

understand the role of the Scottish Parliament in law making
understand the relationship between the Scottish and UK Parliaments
understand the role played by law and how you can influence the law making process.

The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course. We welcome your feedback and suggestions to improve the course.

Earn this free Open University digital badge if you complete this course! The badge can be displayed, shared and downloaded as a marker of your achievement. The badge is awarded for completing the course and passing the quizzes.

First Published: 23/05/2017

Updated: 09/01/2020

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Course content

- Introduction and guidance
- Current section:
  Introduction and guidance
  Welcome to this badged open course, The Scottish Parliament and law making.The course lasts eight weeks, with approximately three hours of study each week. You can work through the course at your own pace, so if you have more time one week there is no problem with pushing on to complete another week’s study.In this course you learn about the law making role of the Scottish Parliament and consider how, and why, laws are made by both the Scottish and United Kingdom (UK) Parliaments. You...
- What is a badged course?
- How to get a badge
- Acknowledgements
- week1Week 1: Law making powers of the Scottish Parliament
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In this week you consider the law making powers of the Scottish Parliament. In subsequent weeks you consider the law making process in the Scottish Parliament.When the process of devolution within the UK began in 1998, legislation from the UK Parliament created new devolved legislatures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with new law making powers. The Scotland Act 1998 outlined the initial powers of the new Scottish Parliament, the Government of Wales Act 1998 outlined those of the Nat...
- 1 The Scotland Act 1998
- 2 The Scotland Act 2012
  - 2.1 New and amended powers
- 3 The Scotland Act 2016
  - 3.1 Further additional powers
- 4 Legislative consent – or ‘Sewel’ motions
- 5 Working relationship between the Parliaments and Governments
- 6 This week’s quiz
- Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 1 practice quiz
- week2Week 2: Constitutional characteristics, the rule of law and Scotland
- Current section:
  Introduction
  The UK’s constitution has undergone significant change in recent decades. In this week you will explore the role and function of a constitution, the constitutional arrangements of the UK and the rule of law. You then consider the implications of these for both the Scottish Parliament and Scotland.By the end of this week you should be able to:explain the UK’s constitutional arrangementsdefine the UK’s constitutionexplain the principle of the rule of law.
- 1 Constitutions
  - 1.1 What is a constitution?
  - 1.2 Features of a constitution
- 2 Evolution of the United Kingdom
- 3 Characteristics and functions of the UK’s constitution
- 4 The UK’s constitutional arrangements
  - 4.1 The rule of law and UK's constitution
  - 4.2 Thinking about the UK’s constitution
- 5 Constitutional characteristics and Scotland
- 6 This week’s quiz
- Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 2 practice quiz
- week3Week 3: Law making processes in the Scottish Parliament
- Current section:
  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 o...
- 1 A new Scottish Parliament
- 1.1 Law making processes in the Scottish Parliament
- 2 Legislative competence
  - 2.1 The criteria to determine legislative competence
- 3 How law is made in the Scottish Parliament
- 4 This week’s quiz
- Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 3 practice quiz
- week4Week 4: Law making and the UK Parliament
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In this week you explore the role of the UK Parliament in law making. You have learnt that the UK Parliament legislates on reserved matters. It can also legislate on devolved matters with the agreement of the Scottish Parliament.The law making process at Westminster is a very different process from that of the Scottish Parliament. It involves both the Houses of the UK Parliament. Unlike the Scottish Parliament, the UK Parliament is bicameral, it has two chambers, the House of Commons and the...
- 1 Bills in the UK Parliament
  - 1.1 Preparation for Bills
- 2 Stages of a Bill in the UK Parliament
- 3 This week’s quiz
- Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 4 compulsory badge quiz
- week5Week 5: Reading an Act of the Scottish Parliament
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In this week you examine how legislation is structured and how you reference (cite) legislation. You were introduced to sections of an Act when you explored the powers of the Scottish Parliament and Sections 28 and 29 of The Scotland Act 1998 (as amended). Here you learn more about the structure of Acts and how to read them.By the end of this week you should be able to:explain how an act is structureddiscuss the accessibility of language used in Actsunderstand the role of Parliamentary Couns...
- 1 Acts: An overview
- 2 Acts of the Scottish Parliament
- 3 Who drafts the Bills?
- 4 Acts of the UK Parliament
- 5 Bills and Acts and the UK Parliament
- 6 Making law accessible
- 7 This week's quiz
- Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 5 practice quiz
- week6Week 6: Exploring legislation
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In this week you explore and consider the growing use of secondary legislation for the purposes of law making. You also consider the processes for scrutiny in both the Scottish and UK Parliaments and explore some of the challenges presented by secondary legislation.By the end of this week you will be able to:explain what secondary legislation isunderstand why secondary legislation is usedUnderstand the difference between primary and secondary legislation.
- 1 Secondary legislation
- 2 The Scottish Parliament
  - 2.1 Subordinate legislation
  - 2.2 Affirmative or negative procedure
- 3 The UK Parliament
- 4 This week’s quiz
- Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 6 practice quiz
- week7Week 7: MSPs, MPs and law making
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Both the Scottish and UK Parliaments make laws covering Scotland. This may be achieved through primary or subordinate / delegated legislation. In previous weeks you have considered how the Parliaments make laws. In this week you explore who the individuals who contribute to making those laws are – the MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) and MPs (Members of Parliament, meaning the UK Parliament). You consider the election process and work of Committees in the Scottish Parliament....
- 1 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs)
  - 1.1 Voting in Scottish parliamentary elections
- 2 The work of MSPs
  - 2.1 The many roles of an MSP
- 3 The Committee System
- 4 The UK Parliamentary elections
- 5 Parliamentary election constituencies
- 6 This week’s quiz
- Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 7 practice quiz
- week8Week 8: Getting involved in law making
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In this week you consider where the ideas for the need for an Act of the Scottish Parliament come from. You explore the sources of those ideas before looking at how citizens can shape and become involved in the law making process of the Scottish Parliament. Earlier in the course you explored the different types of Bills that exist and how they go through a process before becoming law. You have also seen that in the Scottish Parliament the process for public engagement is transparent and that...
- 1 Why law changes
- 2 Where do ideas for change come from?
- 3 How is law reformed?
- 4 How can you become involved?
- 5 This week’s quiz
- Summary
- End of course conclusion
- Tell us what you think
- Acknowledgements
- Week 8 compulsory badge quiz

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The Scottish Parliament and law making

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