Britain’s High Court of Justice will begin hearing arguments on Tuesday about whether Scotland’s home rule government can hold an independence referendum without British executive consent.
The hearings take place between this Tuesday and Wednesday and the result should be known by the end of the year.
The case was initiated by the Scottish Attorney General (Lord Advocate), Dorothy Bain, at the request of the autonomous government led by the Scottish National Party (SNP), which invokes a “fundamental and inalienable” right to self-determination.
The British government has so far refused to authorize a repeat of the 2014 referendum, when 55% of voters rejected independence.
The London executive argues that sovereignty issues are reserved for the Westminster parliament in London under the Scottish Home Rule Act 1998.
Scottish First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said she was “confident” she could organize the referendum on her desired date of October 19, 2023.
However, if the British court of last resort [equivalente ao Tribunal Constitucional em Portugal] decides otherwise, Sturgeon threatens to stand in the next legislative elections with a program based solely on the referendum proposal, so that the result will be considered a plebiscite on the project.
The elections do not have a definitive date, but must be held no later than the end of January. The SNP won 48 of the 59 parliamentary seats in 2019 with 45% of the vote in Scotland.
Sturgeon argues that Britain’s departure from the European Union (EU) justifies a repeat of the 2014 independence referendum, noting that ‘Brexit’ (as the UK’s exit from the EU bloc became known), approved by 52% of Britons, it was rejected by 62% of Scots.
The 2021 regional elections resulted in a pro-independence majority in the Holyrood assembly from the SNP and the Greens. The Conservative, Labor and Liberal Democrat parties are against breaking up the UK.
Scotland and England have been united politically since 1707, but in 1999 Scotland had its own parliament and government in Edinburgh, responsible for public health policy, education, agriculture, security and other matters.
The UK Government based in London controls matters such as defence, foreign policy, immigration and tax policy.
Source: TSF
