Scottish independence referendum: legal issues
A briefing paper on the legal issues surrounding a Scottish independence referendum

This paper provides an overview of the constitutional status and functions of the law officers of the United Kingdom. This includes the law officers of the UK Government and those that advise the three devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Law Officers: a Constitutional and Functional Overview (1 MB , PDF)
Law officers are senior legal advisors to the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive.
The UK Government has four distinct law officer posts, of which two are held concurrently. These are the:
The Scottish Govenrment has two law officers, the Lord Advocate (LA) and the Solicitor General for Scotland (SGS).
The Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive each have one law officer, the Counsel General for Wales (CGW) and the Attorney General for Northern Ireland (AGNI) respectively.
Law officers’ functions vary significantly and depend on the historical and constitutional context of their posts. They typically carry out a range of advisory, litigatory and executive functions, including:
The nature of the work that law officers do is different from other Ministers. With the exception of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland, there is no legal bar to a law officer being a parliamentarian or otherwise politically active. However, some of their work calls for a degree of independence or separation from Government and party politics.
[1] This post is held concurrently with that of Attorney General for England and Wales
The Law Officers: a Constitutional and Functional Overview (1 MB , PDF)
A briefing paper on the legal issues surrounding a Scottish independence referendum
The House of Commons is being asked to approve changes to plans for the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster.
Proposed legal changes will allow agencies to supply temporary workers to cover workers taking industrial action. What is the context of these plans?