electronic sources of scottish legislation: an overview david r. hart university of dundee
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Electronic sourcesof Scottish legislation:
an overviewDavid R. Hart
University of Dundee
Legislation
Legislation
Primary legislation Secondary (or delegated) legislation
Primary legislation
Public General ActsLocal and Personal ActsActs of the Scottish Parliament
Secondary legislation
Statutory InstrumentsScottish Statutory InstrumentsStatutory Codes of PracticeByelaws
1st July 1999
Westminster and Holyrood
Acts (statutes) from Westminster
Sunday Working (Scotland) Act 2003
2003 c.18
Acts (statutes) from Westminster
Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003
2003 c.28
Acts (statutes) from Holyrood
Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005
2005 asp 13
How will I recognisedelegated legislation?
Trigger words in the titles of statutory instruments
• Regulations• Rules• Order• Scheme
Delegated legislationfrom Westminster
Guaranteed Minimum PensionsIncrease Order 2005
SI 2005/521
Delegated legislationfrom Westminster
Insolvency (Scotland) Regulations 2003
SI 2003/2109
Delegated legislationfrom Holyrood
Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005
SSI 2005/348
Issues to consider
• Is this legislation in force?(commencement)
• Has it been amended?
• Has it been repealed/revoked?
Sources of legislation
OfficialPublic General ActsStatutes in ForceStatutory InstrumentsActs of the Scottish ParliamentScottish Statutory Instruments
UnofficialCurrent Law StatutesHalsbury’s StatutesHalsbury’s Statutory Instruments
Electronic sources of legislation
OfficialOffice of Public Sector InformationOffice of the Queen’s Printer for Scotland
UnofficialBAILIIJustisLawtelLexisNexisWestlaw
Office of Public Sector Information
www.opsi.gov.uk
Public General Acts 1988 -Statutory Instruments 1987 -Acts of the Scottish Parliament 1999 -Scottish Statutory Instruments 1999 –
As enacted or made
Office of Public Sector Information
Statute Law Database
“For many years, the DCA and before it the Lord Chancellor's Department gave firm predictions that the database would be publicly available 12 months from whatever date they were stating that on.”
Jonathan Mitchell QC
Office of Public Sector Information
Statute Law Database
Public General Acts in force on 1st February 1991 -Statutory Instruments 1991 -Acts of the Scottish Parliament 1999 -Scottish Statutory Instruments 1999 –
Office of Public Sector Information
Statute Law Database
• Amendments will be incorporated in Acts
• Secondary legislation as printed
• Point-in-time access
BAILII
British and Irish Legal Information Institute
www.bailii.org
“Public legal information is digital common property and should be accessible to all on a non-profit basis and free of charge” [Declaration on Free Access to Law]
BAILII
Public General Acts 1988 -Statutory Instruments 2002 -Acts of the Scottish Parliament 1999 -Scottish Statutory Instruments 1999 –
As enacted or made
Justis
www.justis.com
English/UK Acts 1235 -Acts of the Scottish Parliament 1999 -
As enacted but with links toamended and amending legislation
Justis
Statutory Instruments 1987-Scottish Statutory Instruments 1999 -
plus Archive 1671-1986
As made
Lawtel
www.lawtel.com
UK Legislation Service 1984 -
• Digest only
• Covers Westminster and Holyrood
• Links to OPSI website
LexisNexis Butterworths
www.lexisnexis.co.uk
LexisNexis Professional and LexisNexis Butterworths
• Full amended text of all Public General Actscurrently in force in England & Wales
• Only those provisions of Westminster Acts relating toScotland which affect England & Wales are
included
LexisNexis Butterworths
LexisNexis Professional and LexisNexis Butterworths
• Full coverage of Scottish Parliament
LexisNexis Butterworths
LexisNexis Professional LexisNexis Butterworths
Statutes of England & Wales UK Parliament ActsStatutory Instruments of England & Wales UK Parliament SIs
Statutes of Scotland Scottish Parliament ActsStatutory Instruments of Scotland Scottish Parliament SIs
Westlaw
www.westlaw.co.uk
• Full amended text of all Public General Acts
• Full amended text of all Statutory Instruments
• Full coverage of Scottish legislation from bothWestminster and Holyrood
Westlaw
• Versions
• Historic law
• In Force Date: February 1, 1991
Other developments
• Scottish Parliament Project
www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~scotparl/
• National Archives of Scotland
www.nas.gov.uk
A maiden’s prayer
Considerations
• Is it comprehensive?• Is it current?• Is it authoritative/reliable?• Are amendments incorporated or simply noted?• Does it function as an archive?• Do we just need legislation or a total package?• Is it easy to use?• How much are we prepared to spend?
Asking for the moon?