Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999
The
Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999 is a
statutory instrument of the
parliament of the United Kingdom, defining "the boundaries between waters which are to be treated as internal waters or territorial sea of the United Kingdom adjacent to
Scotland and those which are not". It was introduced in accordance with the
Scotland Act 1998, which established the
devolved Scottish Parliament.
The territorial waters thus defined as Scottish waters come under the
jurisdiction of
Scots law, and are also used for defining the area of operation of the
Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, the
Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and other
Scottish Executive agencies and
public bodies. This is, for example, of importance to the
Scottish fishing industry, the
North Sea oil industry, and in the competing claims for the resources of the
Rockall Trough.
The territorial waters thus defined as
not being Scottish waters come under the jurisdiction of either
English law or
Northern Ireland law. Therefore, because it defines the territorial limits of the three separate
legal states, it comprises a piece of
constitutional law in the
constitution of the United Kingdom.
*
The Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999*
Map of the boundary defined in the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999
*
26 April 2000 - Official Report of debate regarding the Order in the
Scottish Parliament*
Scottish Executive - press release, 9 Dec 1999*
Scottish Ministers' proposals for the designation of marine boundaries in coastal and transitional waters
