Sources of Scots law

Statute law is law that is made by the U.K. and Scottish Parliaments. It is both primary and secondary legislation. Primary legislation has been debated and passed by parliament. It includes both Government sponsored bills and private member's bills. In Scotland the parliament can also pass Bills put forward from a committee. Secondary legislation is the issue of statutory instruments/regulations by the government to fill in the details of an Act of Parliament. These regulations are not debated fully by parliament.

This is law derived from legal principles and judicial precedents laid down by judges in decisions made over the centuries. Common law is usually called case law and in essence means that the court is bound to follow the law laid down by a superior court in an earlier case.

There are a small number of legal texts by specific writers that have attained 'institutional' or 'authoritative' status. They have less authority than legislation and case law, but where there is nothing to the contrary in statute or case law then an institutional writing will usually be accepted as settling the point. The principal writers are Craig, Mackenzie, Stair, Hume and Erskine.