British judiciary considers Scotland's request to organize a referendum on independence

Sturgeon speaking during the Scottish National Party's annual conference.

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The UK's Supreme Court is considering the legality of Scottish requests to hold a new referendum in 2023 on independence without the consent of the London government.

Nicola Sturgeon's nationalist government in Edinburgh is seeking to organize a new referendum in which voters will answer the question "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

Sturgeon spoke at the Scottish National Party's annual conference that hearings at the Supreme Court would not have been necessary had the UK government in Westminster respected Scottish democracy.

But "Westminster does not show such respect," Sturgeon said, adding, "This means that sooner or later the matter would have been done in court, and in my opinion it would be better if it was sooner."

"If the court rules in the way we hope, there will be a referendum on independence on October 19 next year," that is, 2023.

High Court hearings will see senior lawyers squabble over the powers of the Parliament of Edinburgh versus Westminster.

The Scottish National Party ran in the Scottish parliamentary elections in 2021, promising to hold a legal referendum after the Covid-19 crisis subsided.

Despite the party's will to go ahead with the organization of the referendum, the British government did not grant permission, although its approval must be obtained under the Scotland Act 1998.

A referendum was held on the issue in 2014, when 55 percent of Scottish voters chose to remain in the United Kingdom.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss, in a televised interview this month, stressed that she considers the last referendum in 2014 a once-in-a-generation event.

"I am very clear that there should not be another referendum before this generation is over," she said.

Opinion polls on voting intentions indicate a split in Scotland between supporters and opponents of independence from the United Kingdom.

And the popularity of the Scottish National Party, which calls for independence and has been in power since 2007, has increased in Scotland after Brexit, as this British province voted by 62% to remain in the European Union.

The Scottish government is seeking to be able to establish its own legal framework to organize another referendum, arguing that "the right to self-determination is a fundamental and inalienable right".

But the British government says that Scotland cannot act unilaterally on an issue regarding the constitutional makeup of the entire United Kingdom, where the London government dominates.

To get around this, the SNP government is seeking to hold an "advisory referendum" to test support for Scottish independence, without immediate change.

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom hears cases of public or constitutional importance, affecting the entire population.

The hearings began yesterday and continue today with five justices, including Chief Justice Robert Reid, who will issue a ruling in the next six to eight weeks.

The judges are considering the legal validity of the Scottish National Party's referendum bill, which sets the referendum date for October 19, 2023.

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