The basis of internationally recognised direct Political Rights is the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Art 25) (ICCPR), recognised by the UK, including Scotland, in 1976: “Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity……to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives.”

Although Holyrood could incorporate Art 25 in legislation on devolved matters tomorrow, it has nevertheless chosen to exclude ICCPR from the scope of SNAP 2 (Scotland’s National Human Rights Action Plan (2023-2030).  And you might well be tempted to say: “So what ?”

Well, apart from the right to stand for election, right now the Scottish People have no direct Political Rights on national matters such as, particularly, the right to Referendums (to accept or refuse proposed legislation) or Initiatives (to either write a new Constitution or launch proposed constitutional changes).  And, already today, that has major implications for the Scottish People who, after all, are sovereign.

The following pages describe the use of each Direct Democracy (DD) tool, along with suggested articles for a future Scottish constitution.  It is our hope that these pages will help readers understand how important individual direct Political Rights, properly organised, are to Scotland’s future.