ABSTRACT
Whilst readers from federal jurisdictions will not be surprised to find that aspects of family law are divided between state or provincial and federal law, the impact of the different consequences between breach of human rights law by the Westminster Parliament and the Scottish Parliament is one novel consequence of the Scotland Act 1998. The attitude of Scots law has, at the overt level, probably granted greater autonomy to children than in England. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 added a new s.2(4A) to the Age of Legal Capacity Scotland Act 1981 to ensure that a child with a general understanding of what is involved has power to instruct a solicitor in a civil matter. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 goes farther than English law in spelling out parental responsibilities and rights and one might say that parental rights are bestowed under Scots law largely to enable parents to discharge their legal parental responsibilities.
