The Scottish Government today made public its legislative programme for the coming year. The most interesting aspect is the plan for a Referendum Bill to be put before the Scottish Parliament at some point in 2010. In short, the Scottish Government, led by the Scottish National Party (SNP), plans to hold a referendum on Scottish independence. Leaving aside the political issues, such as for example the problem facing the SNP minority government of gaining political support for the Bill in parliament, a number of legal questions arises out of the Government’s plans. For instance, the status of referendums under UK…