General
Most orders under the Act are subject to some form of procedure in the Westminster Parliament only. Others, such as those relating to the disqualification from membership of the Scottish Parliament, and the procedures for Royal Assent to Acts of the Scottish Parliament, are subject to procedure in the Scottish Parliament only. Some orders are subject to procedure in both the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments. This is used where both Parliaments have an interest, for example in the modification of the list of reserved matters, the executive devolution of functions to the Scottish Ministers and in the adaptation of cross-border public authorities.
Some orders are expressly made subject to affirmative resolution procedure, requiring the Parliament(s) to take an active part in the making of the order. This is the case for orders which are considered to be most important, such as the provisions relating to elections, modification of the list of reserved matters; the adaptation of Ministerial functions (e.g. in relation to fisheries), and the determination of the boundary of Scottish waters. With the exception of minor orders such as orders appointing regional returning officers (section 12(5)) which require no Parliamentary procedure, all other orders are subject to negative resolution procedure and can be annulled in pursuance of a resolution of Parliament, unless for the reasons explained in the following paragraphs they are dealt with as an affirmative instrument.