New Briefing Addresses Relationship Between Human Rights and Devolution

Scottish Parliament MSP office windows Image credit: dun_deagh, Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dun_deagh/10253345204/in/album-72157627413379299/

A new briefing, written by human rights experts Professor Nicole Busby and Dr Katie Boyle, explores the relationship between human rights and devolution in Scotland. The briefing, which was published as part of the Civil Society Brexit Project, gives an overview of how Scotland’s devolution arrangement has so far helped to protect and promote human rights. It also examines the opportunities and challenges presented by the potential expansion and erosion of devolution.

Professor Busby and Dr Boyle conclude that, since the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, devolution has acted as both a foundation for human rights protection and a vehicle for its progression. This is not due to Parliament alone; civil society organisations and community groups also play a valuable role in “encouraging and cultivating the environment” for progressing human rights. As Busby and Boyle state: “effective human rights implementation depends on participative and inclusive processes which are, in turn, best conducted at the most local level.”

Click here to read the briefing in full

The Civil Society Brexit Project is a partnership between the Human Rights Consortium Scotland and the Scottish Universities Legal Network on Europe (SULNE), funded by the Legal Education Foundation.

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