Scotland

E

Culture

Historic cultural differences long divided Celtic Scots of the Highlands and Anglo-Saxons of the Lowlands. Traditionally, the clan, a grouping of an entire family with one patriarchal chief, or laird, was central to Highland culture. Clans were also important as fighting units, and they played an important role in rebellions against the British government. However, depopulation of the Highlands, which has occurred since the 18th century, fatally weakened the clan structure. Today, the clan in Scotland exists mainly as a cultural ideal rather than as a practical form of social organization. Lowland culture was more heavily influenced by the Industrial Revolution, as well as by Protestantism, which spread throughout much of Scotland during the Reformation. The extension of Highland cultural traditions to the Lowlands—including the use of clan names, kilts, and bagpipes—and the creation of a Scottish mythology and literary culture can be traced to the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At that time writers such as Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott worked to create a unified sense of Scottish identity.

Scots have made many outstanding contributions to the arts and sciences over the centuries. Well-known Scottish painters include the portraitists George Jameson, Allan Ramsey, Sir Henry Raeburn, and Sir David Wilkie, and the impressionist William McTaggart. Leading Scottish writers include the poets Robert Burns, Hugh MacDiarmid, and Edwin Muir, the biographer James Boswell, the novelists Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson, and the dramatist Sir James Barrie. See Scottish Literature.

In the field of philosophy, Scotland has produced numerous influential thinkers, including the medieval theologian John Duns Scotus, the moral philosopher and historian David Hume, and the renowned economist Adam Smith. Among the great Scottish scientists are James Watt, who greatly improved the steam engine, Sir William Ramsay, a Nobel Prize-winning chemist, and Sir Alexander Fleming, who received a Nobel Prize for his discovery of the drug penicillin.

Scotland has a rich musical heritage. The traditional instruments of Scotland include the fiddle, clarsach (the Celtic harp), and bagpipes, an ancient instrument that was probably brought to Scotland by Romans. Scottish music is noted for the wide use of a five-tone, or pentatonic, scale. Traditional folk tunes are not standardized, and a single song may have hundreds of variations in lyrics and music. A revival of traditional Scottish music began in the 1960s, and it continues to influence contemporary musical forms, including Scottish folk rock and Gaelic-language music.

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Sports have an important place in Scottish life. The most popular sports in Scotland are soccer and rugby. Professional clubs draw a wide following, and many Scots play on amateur teams. Sports of Scottish origin, including curling and golf, also remain popular. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Saint Andrews, located in Saint Andrews on Scotland’s eastern coast, maintains the world’s oldest surviving golf course and is a recognized authority on the rules of golf. Shinty, a stick-and-ball game similar to hurling, is a Highland sport. The traditional Highland dress of tartans and kilts adds color to the Highland Games, a series of athletic events held annually in Scotland. A beautiful and varied natural environment supports many forms of outdoor recreation, including hiking, rock climbing, canoeing, sailing, and skiing. Indoor sports, such as billiards, darts, and bowling, also attract many enthusiasts.

IV

Government

Scotland is governed as an integral part of the United Kingdom. It is represented by 59 members in the House of Commons, the lower house of the British Parliament. In 1999 the British Parliament devolved many of its responsibilities in Scotland to a new Scottish Parliament.

From 1888 to 1999 Scottish affairs were administered by a British cabinet ministry, headed by the secretary of state for Scotland. After the new Scottish Parliament took office in 1999, it assumed many of the responsibilities once held by the secretary of state for Scotland, including education, health, local government, the environment, economic development, and the arts. The Scottish Parliament also has limited authority over taxation. However, the majority of the Scottish public budget is allocated as a block grant from the national government in London. The national government also retains control over foreign affairs, defense, welfare, and employment policies.

A

Executive

Executive power within the Scottish government is vested in a cabinet of ministers, called the Scottish Executive. The executive is formed by the party or parties that hold a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament. A first minister, nominated by the parliament, leads the executive and also appoints the other Scottish ministers. These ministers head the various administrative departments, or ministries. The executive is accountable to the Scottish Parliament.

B

Legislature

The Scottish Parliament has 129 members, who are elected by a combined system of direct voting and proportional representation. The standard term of office is four years, unless the parliament is dissolved and early elections are scheduled. The 1998 Scotland Act, which provided for the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, gives the parliament the authority to pass legislation on all devolved matters (those policy matters explicitly ceded to Scotland by the national government). Policy issues on which the Scottish Parliament cannot pass legislation are known as reserved matters.

In addition to debating and making laws, the parliament is responsible for conducting inquiries and publishing reports on a wide range of policy matters. The parliament also holds the Scottish Executive accountable through oral and written questions and through oversight of its activities by parliamentary committees.

C

Judiciary

Before the union of Scotland and England in 1707, Scotland had developed its own system of law, which continued after the union. The Scottish law system is based on civil law, which is derived from ancient Roman law, whereas the other parts of Britain follow common law, which originated in England with the evolution of case law and precedents. Because of the different systems of law, separate statutes or statutory provisions often are enacted by the British Parliament for application in Scotland. Any statute must state expressly or imply that it is applicable to Scotland in order to become enforceable. See also England: English Law.

Because Scotland maintains its own legal system, the Scottish judiciary is organized separately from that of the rest of the United Kingdom. The High Court of Justiciary is the highest criminal court in Scotland and the Court of Session is the highest civil court. A panel of 21 judges serves both courts. Major criminal trials are held before 1 or 2 judges of the High Court of Justiciary and a 15-member jury; criminal appeals may be heard by a bench of at least 3 judges. The Court of Session is divided into an Outer House, which holds all divorce trials and the more important civil trials, and an Inner House, which functions chiefly as an appellate court in civil cases. Appeals to the British House of Lords may be made from the Court of Session; appellate judgments of the High Court of Justiciary are final.

Scotland is divided into six sheriffdoms, each with a sheriff court. Sheriff courts hear most civil cases and all but the most serious criminal cases. Petty cases are tried by police courts and by justices of the peace.

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