The Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999 is a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom government, defining the boundaries of

internal waters According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a nation's internal waters include waters on the side of the baseline of a nation's territorial waters that is facing toward the land, except in archipelagic states. It includes wat ...

territorial sea The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and poten ...

, and British Fishing Limits adjacent to Scotland. It was introduced in accordance with the

Scotland Act 1998 The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...

, which established the devolved Scottish Parliament.

Defining jurisdictions

The

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potent ...

defined come under the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

of Scots law, and are also used for defining the area of operation of the Scottish Government (including

Marine Scotland The Marine Scotland Directorate ( gd, Cùisean Mara na h-Alba) is a directorate of the Scottish Government. Marine Scotland manages Scotland's seas and freshwater fisheries along with delivery partners NatureScot and the Scottish Environmen ...

), SEPA, and other Scottish Government agencies and

public bodies A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in so ...

. The territorial waters defined as ''not'' being Scottish waters come under the jurisdiction of either English law or

Northern Ireland law The law of Northern Ireland is the legal system of statute and common law operating in Northern Ireland since the partition of Ireland established Northern Ireland as a distinct jurisdiction in 1921. Prior to 1921, Northern Ireland was part of ...

. Because the order defines the territorial limits of the three separate

s, it comprises a piece of

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

in the

constitution of the United Kingdom The constitution of the United Kingdom or British constitution comprises the written and unwritten arrangements that establish the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a political body. Unlike in most countries, no attemp ...

Scottish waters

Scottish waters is a colloquial term which can refer to different sea areas, including: *

Internal waters According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a nation's internal waters include waters on the side of the baseline of a nation's territorial waters that is facing toward the land, except in archipelagic states. It includes wat ...

and

adjacent to Scotland. ("Scotland" as defined in the

) * British Fishing Limits adjacent to Scotland. ("The Scottish Zone" as defined in the

) * The UK continental shelf limits adjacent to Scotland. (Part of the "Scottish offshore marine region" as defined in the

Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (c 23) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates "a new system of marine management". The Marine Management Organisation Section 1(1) creates the Marine Management Organisation. Secti ...

)

Differences with existing boundaries

The maritime boundary adopted by the order is an equidistant boundary. This differed from the boundary established by the Civil Jurisdiction (Offshore Activities) Act 1987 which defined a straight line border between Scotland and England in the North Sea along the latitude of 55° 50' 00"N. As a result, some oil fields previously subject to Scots civil law were transferred to English jurisdiction. Professor Alex Kemp of the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

argued that the movement of the line did not make much difference from an economic perspective, "because heseare just a handful of fields, and o longervery important ones".

Potential implications for Scottish independence

The Scottish National Party opposed the order and the methods used to calculate the boundary in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

. In 2015, the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment,

Richard Lochhead Richard Neilson Lochhead (born 24 May 1969) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who is Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work and has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Moray since 2006. He was prev ...

, wrote to the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

requesting a review of the order. In 2001, Mahdi Zahraa of

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...

, published a discussion paper in the ''European Journal of International Law'' detailing different methods of establishing an Anglo-Scottish marine boundary. The author suggests that a perpendicular boundary, derived from a new straight baseline on the east coast of Scotland and England, combined with an area of shared jurisdiction, would be the most equitable solution. Supporters of Scottish independence such as

Craig Murray Craig John Murray (born 17 October 1958) is a Scottish author, human rights campaigner, journalist, and former diplomat for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Between 2002 and 2004, he was the British ambassador to Uzbekistan during ...

have also argued for a perpendicular boundary based on a straight baseline.{{cite web, url=https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2017/01/scotlands-stolen-seas-technical-explanation/, accessdate=2021-01-06, title=Scotland's Stolen Seas: The Technical Explanation , website=craigmurray.org.uk

References

External links