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Scotland Act 2012

  • Explanatory Notes Table of contents

Please note:

All reference to 'Parts' and 'sections' are from the Scotland Act 2012. For other versions of these Explanatory Notes, see More Resources.

  1. Introduction

  2. Background and Summary

  3. Overall Structure of the Act

  4. Territorial Extent and Application

  5. Commentary on Sections (and Schedules)

    1. Part 1: the Parliament and Its Powers

      1. Section 1: Administration of elections

      2. Section 2: Combination of polls at Scottish Parliamentary and other reserved elections

      3. Section 3: Supplementary and transitional provision about elections

      4. Section 4: Presiding Officer and deputies

      5. Section 5: Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

      6. Section 6: Bills: statements as to legislative competence

      7. Section 7: Members’ Interests

      8. Section 8: Constituencies, regions and regional members

      9. Section 9: Continued effect of provisions ceasing to be within legislative competence

      10. Section 10: Air weapons

      11. Section 11: Antarctica

    2. Part 2: Ministers and Their Powers

      1. Section 12: The Scottish Government

      2. Section 13: Exercise of power to make Order disqualifying persons from membership of the Parliament

      3. Section 14: Time limit for human rights actions against Scottish Ministers etc

      4. Section 15: Power to vary retrospective decisions about non-legislative acts

      5. Section 16: BBC Trust member for Scotland

      6. Section 17: Exercise of functions relating to Seirbheis nam Meadhanan Gàidhlig

      7. Section 18: Crown Estate Commissioner with special responsibility for Scotland

      8. Section 19: Misuse of drugs

      9. Section 20: Power to prescribe drink-driving limits

      10. Section 21: Speed limits

      11. Section 22: Speed limits: supplementary

    3. Part 3: Finance

      1. Section 23: Taxation: introductory

      2. Section 24: Amendments relating to the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs

      3. Section 25: Scottish rate of income tax

      4. Section 26: Income tax for Scottish taxpayers

      5. Section 27: Definition of Scottish taxpayer for Scottish variable rate

      6. Section 28: Scottish tax on transactions involving interests in land

      7. Section 29: Disapplication of UK stamp duty land tax

      8. Section 30: Scottish tax on disposals to landfill

      9. Section 31: Disapplication of UK landfill tax

      10. Section 32: Borrowing by the Scottish Ministers

      11. Section 33: Reports on the implementation and operation of this Part

    4. Part 4: Miscellaneous

      1. Section 34: Convention rights and EU law: role of the Advocate General in relation to criminal proceedings

      2. Section 35: References of compatibility issues to the High Court or Supreme Court

      3. Section 36: Convention rights and EU law: criminal appeals to the Supreme Court

      4. Section 37: Time limits for appeals on devolution issues in criminal proceedings

      5. Section 38: Review and power to amend sections 34 to 37

      6. Section 39: Maximum penalties which may be specified in subordinate legislation

      7. Section 42: Power to make consequential,  transitional and saving provision

      8. Section 44: Commencement

  6. Schedules

    1. Schedule 1: Amendments of Schedule 1 to the 1998 Act

    2. Schedule 2: Scottish rate of income tax: consequential amendments

    3. Schedule 3: Scottish tax on land transactions: consequential amendments

    4. Schedule 4: Scottish tax on landfill: consequential amendments

  7. Commencement

  8. Hansard References

  • Explanatory Notes Table of contents

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Explanatory Notes

Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.

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