The Scottish Government and Parliament have wide-ranging powers over any

matter that has not been specifically reserved to the UK parliament,

including education, healthcare, Scots law and local government.[174] At
the 2011 elections the Scottish National Party won re-election and
achieved an overall majority in the Scottish parliament, with its leader,
Alex Salmond, as First Minister of Scotland.[175][176] In 2012, the UK
and Scottish governments signed the Edinburgh Agreement setting out the
terms for a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014, which was
defeated 55% to 45%.
The Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales have more
limited powers than those devolved to Scotland.[177] The Assembly is able
to legislate on devolved matters through Acts of the Assembly, which
require no prior consent from Westminster. The 2011 elections resulted in
a minority Labour administration led by Carwyn Jones.[178]
The Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly have powers similar to those
devolved to Scotland. The Executive is led by a diarchy representing
unionist and nationalist members of the Assembly. Currently, Peter
Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party) and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Fin)
are First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively.[179]
Devolution to Northern Ireland is contingent on participation by the
Northern Ireland administration in the North-South Ministerial Council,
where the Northern Ireland Executive cooperates and develops joint and
shared policies with the Government of Ireland. The British and Irish
governments co-operate on non-devolved matters affecting Northern Ireland
through the BritishIrish Intergovernmental Conference, which assumes the
responsibilities of the Northern Ireland administration in the event of
its non-operation.
The UK does not have a codified constitution and constitutional matters
are not among the powers devolved to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Under the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, the UK Parliament could,
in theory, therefore, abolish the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly or
Northern Ireland Assembly.[180][181] Indeed, in 1972, the UK Parliament
unilaterally prorogued the Parliament of Northern Ireland, setting a
precedent relevant to contemporary devolved institutions.[182] In
practice, it would be politically difficult for the UK Parliament to
abolish devolution to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly,
given the political entrenchment created by referendum decisions.[183]
The political constraints placed upon the UK Parliament's power to
interfere with devolution in Northern Ireland are even greater than in
relation to Scotland and Wales, given that devolution in Northern Ireland
rests upon an international agreement with the Government of
Ireland.[184]
Law and criminal justice
Main article: Law of the United Kingdom
The Royal Courts of Justice of England and Wales
The United Kingdom does not have a single legal system, as Article 19 of
the 1706 Treaty of Union provided for the continuation of Scotland's
separate legal system.[185] Today the UK has three distinct systems of
law: English law, Northern Ireland law and Scots law. A new Supreme Court
of the United Kingdom came into being in October 2009 to replace the
Appellate Committee of the House of Lords.[186][187] The Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council, including the same members as the Supreme
Court, is the highest court of appeal for several independent
Commonwealth countries, the British Overseas Territories and the Crown
Dependencies.[188]