Edinburgh Law School academics inform the EU Referendum debate

With a date for the UK’s EU referendum now set in stone, the debate is in full flow as to whether the country would be better remaining a member of the European Union, or whether going-it alone would prove more beneficial.

Edinburgh Law School’s academics are at the forefront of this debate, talking to the media, engaging audiences at events, and publishing in blogs and journals.

Here are some of the activities our academics have been undertaking to inform the public debate.

Professor Drew Scott, Professor of European Union Studies spoke on the BBC’s Scotland 2016 programme about how Scotland could benefit from Britain exiting the EU.

He said that powers over areas including farming and fishing, currently within the competence of Brussels, would go to Scotland. He added that an exit from the EU would result in a "significant constitutional debate" on the question of how these powers should be used and paid for.
 
"Agriculture has been reformed really since devolution and what we have seen is the Scottish Parliament has had more competence over the implementation of agricultural policy in Scotland, albeit it is still governed at EU level", he said.
 
"If it were to be the case that Britain left the EU, competence for farming would come back to the Scottish Parliament, full stop.
 
"It would have to be financed, so a new financial deal would have to be agreed between Edinburgh and London to pay for farming, which of course is not at all included in the current Smith negotiations or anything preceding that."
 
He added, however, that he was not suggesting people tactically vote to leave the EU so that Holyrood secures more powers.
 
The academic also said current arrangements meant the UK government influences Scottish environmental policy via the EU: "That influence over environmental policy would disappear if we were to leave the EU, which would mean that Britain would find itself with Scotland perhaps diverging perhaps even further from UK policy.

"Now there is nothing wrong with that - that was what devolution in a sense was designed to do - but it would create inter-governmental discussions that would have to, I think, deal with some problematic issues".
 
He suggested a number of possible legal solutions. For example, Holyrood could adopt EU law and not change anything.
 
However, he added: "That would still leave the thorny question of who pays for it, because if Scottish policy towards farming or fishing or regional economic development were to diverge from the UK, then the UK may say 'why are we paying for your more indulgent policy? We will pay you the rate we pay for the rest of the UK policy'.
 
"So we end up, perhaps, in a struggle about finances yet again."

Dr Tobias Lock, Lecturer in EU Law, spoke with John Beattie on BBC Radio Scotland on the potential outcomes of the referendum.

As part of a panel of academics, he discussed both the potential benefits and disadvantages surrounding labour law and workers rights should Britain choose to leave the EU.

Listen to the recording of the show here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070d4wd#play

Edinburgh Law School’s Research Community, AQMeN is currently hosting a project surveying the citizens in other EU Member States on their attitudes towards the UK’s EU referendum.

The results from the survey being carried out by Dr Jan Eichhorn and Dr Daniel Kenealy, both from the School of Social and Political Science, will not only prove insightful for policy makers in other EU Member states on the attitudes of their publics, but will also have great relevance for those involved in campaigns for and against the UK’s membership in the European Union.

The results are due to be released in March 2016, but further information on the project can be found on the AQMeN website: http://www.aqmen.ac.uk/projects/euukreferendum

Professor Stephen Tierney, Professor of Constitutional Theory, will be speaking on the Brexit process to the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society at Wolfson College, Oxford on 2^nd March.

His lecture “Can the Referendum Be Democratic?: Reflections on the Brexit Process”, will consider whether or not the referendum is an appropriate way to make such fundamental decisions, exploring the democratic strengths and weaknesses of referendum democracy. 

Further information on the lecture can be found on the Oxford Law website: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/events/can-referendum-be-democratic-reflections-brexit-process

Edinburgh academics Dr Tobias Lock, Dr Cormac Mac Amhlaigh, and Emeritus Professor Sir David Edward, have given evidence on the EU referendum to the Scottish Parliament.

Read the official report here: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=10288

Or watch the video here:
http://www.scottishparliament.tv/Archive/Index/97cdd25b-d879-4306-8d0a-602ba643bff5?Area=&categoryId=3b218d3f-4918-4575-af1b-8ce15b98a2a8&parentCategoryClicked=False&pageNumber=0&orderByField=PlayCount&queryOrder=ASC

The European Futures Blog features a collection of articles on the EU referendum including posts from Edinburgh Law School academics.

‘Rule Britannia? Cameron’s Renegotiation and the Question of Sovereignty’ by Dr Tobias Lock 

‘Reaction: The UK’s EU Renegotiation Demands’ – ‘Welfare Benefits’ by Professor Niamh Nic Shuibhne