The Role of Scholars in the Convergence and Divergence of Scots and English Law in the Decade Since Devolution

Abstract

The boundary between Scotland and England is not purely an administrative one. Invisible to the eye it is nevertheless a boundary between one legal system and another. To cross the border is to enter a legal world which reflects much of the political history of Scots-English relationships, from outright and bloody warfare, to wary truce, and in more recent times, new assertions of sovereignty for Scotland following devolution in 1999.This paper, the origins of which were presented at the 2009 Society of Legal Scholars Centenary conference celebrating 100 years of legal scholarship, considers the role of scholars in fostering or undermining the idea of convergence and divergence in Scots and English law, focusing on academic writing in the decade since devolution in order to discover whether the opportunities provided by this historic moment have been accompanied by greater assertions of divergence, or whether other UK wide considerations, are leading to greater advocacy of legal convergence, particularly through the work of comparativists north and south of the border.