In 2002, the Scottish National Party (SNP) published a draft Constitution for Scotland. Aside from its potential practical importance in the event of Scotland becoming independent, this draft Constitution is also of academic interest as an example of a written Constitution that is derived from, but which critiques and seeks to reform, the ‘Westminster’ model of democracy. This thesis subjects the SNP’s draft Constitution, for the first time, to a thorough, independent and scholarly review. It addresses the central question of whether the draft Constitution, if adopted, would be a viable and acceptable foundation for the constitutional order of a democratic Scottish State. Using a historical institutionalist approach, the thesis identifies the criteria of a viable and acceptable Constitution by reference to Scotland’s historical trajectory, the evolving global norms of constitutional democracy, and the circumstantial conditions of Scotland today. It then conducts a detailed examination of the draft Constitution, to assess how well the text embodies these criteria. The thesis finds that the SNP’s draft Constitution is viable and acceptable in its overall structure and principles, but that it is diminished by poor constitutional design and by an avoidable lack of attention to procedural detail.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:564092 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Bulmer, W. Elliot |
| Publisher | University of Glasgow |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3791/ |
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