The Scottish Parliament (Letters Patent and Proclamations) Order 1999

Made: 10th March 1999

Laid before Parliament: 22nd March 1999

Coming into force: 6th May 1999

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 10th day of March 1999 Present, The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred on Her by sections 38(3) and 113 of the Scotland Act 1998¹, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Scottish Parliament (Letters Patent and Proclamations) Order 1999 and shall come into force on 6th May 1999.

• (2) In this Order–

• “the 1998 Act” means the Scotland Act 1998;

• “Letters Patent” means Letters Patent signed with Her Majesty’s own hand signifying Her Assent to a Bill passed by the Scottish Parliament; and

• “proclamations” means royal proclamations under sections 2(5) and 3(2) of the 1998 Act.

Form of Letters Patent and proclamations

2

The form of words to be used–

• (a) in Letters Patent shall be that set out in Part I of the Schedule to this Order;

• (b) in royal proclamations under section 2(5) of the 1998 Act shall be that set out in Part II of that Schedule; and

• (c) in royal proclamations under section 3(2) of the 1998 Act shall be that set out in Part III of that Schedule,

subject only to such variations as are necessitated by the circumstances.

Preparation of Letters Patent and proclamations

3

Letters Patent and proclamations may be printed or written or partly printed and partly written, and may be prepared on paper or parchment.

Publication of Letters Patent and proclamations

4

• (1) As soon as is reasonably practicable after intimation of the date of their recording in the Register of the Great Seal is received by the Clerk of the Parliament, Letters Patent shall be notified by the Presiding Officer to the Parliament at a meeting of the Parliament, or by such other means as the Presiding Officer may consider appropriate, and shall be published in the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes.

• (2) Proclamations shall be published in the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes.

SCHEDULE — FORM OF DOCUMENTS

PART I — Letters Patent

PART II — Royal proclamations under section 2(5) of the 1998 Act

PART III — Royal proclamations under section 3(2) of the 1998 Act

Signed

A K Galloway — Clerk of the Privy Council

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Section 28 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) (“the 1998 Act”) provides that Bills of the Scottish Parliament receive Royal Assent at the beginning of the day on which Letters Patent under Her Majesty’s Seal appointed by the Treaty of Union to be kept and used in Scotland in place of the Great Seal of Scotland (“the Scottish Seal”) signed with Her Majesty’s own hand signifying Her Assent are recorded in the Register of the Great Seal. Sections 2(5) and 3(2) of the 1998 Act also confer power on Her Majesty in certain circumstances by proclamation to dissolve the Scottish Parliament, to require a general election to be held, to set the date of the poll at the election and to require the Parliament to meet within seven days of the poll.

This Order prescribes the form of words to be used in Letters Patent signifying Royal Assent to Bills passed by the Scottish Parliament and in royal proclamations made under sections 2(5) and 3(2) of the Scotland Act 1998. It also makes provision as to the preparation and publication of those documents.

Footnotes