| The UK Government of Prime Minister Blair has initiated a program of decentralization of legislative and executive power known as 'devolution'. A Scottish Parliament and Executive are established by the Scotland Act, 1998. But the Act does not directly address the question of relations between the UK and Scottish administrations. The thesis examines two distinct aspects of this issue. Firstly, a legal principle of devolution is developed, the normative content of which can guide the conduct of constitutional actors in intergovernmental relations. The means by which this principle can be given legal effect through traditional doctrines of administrative law is examined. Secondly, the thesis considers the provision made for the resolution of constitutional disputes in the last resort. The adoption of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as ultimate constitutional arbiter is criticized as a failure to appreciate the significance of past constitutional reforms in the Empire-Commonwealth. |
