The Supreme Court of England heard the case related to the Scottish independence referendum

Judges at Britain’s Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing evidence on whether Scotland’s parliament can legislate for a second referendum on Scottish independence.

Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she wants to hold a new independence referendum in October 2023, despite opposition from the UK Conservative government in London. Sturgeon is asking the UK Supreme Court to decide whether the Scottish Parliament can hold a referendum without the consent of the UK government.

Dorothy Payne, the Scottish Government’s top lawyer, presented her case to a five-judge panel on Tuesday. He said most Scottish lawmakers had been elected with a commitment to holding a new independence referendum.

“The issue of Scottish independence is a lively and important one in Scottish electoral politics and the Scottish Government is keen to introduce a bill in the Scottish Parliament to hold a referendum,” Paine told the court.

He added that the Scottish Government’s proposed referendum was “non-self-executing”, meaning it was “advisory” and had no legal effect.

Two days were allotted for the hearing at the Supreme Court in London. The UK government is expected to respond on Wednesday. The court chief said it would take a few months to deliver a verdict.

Scottish voters rejected independence by 55% to 45% in a 2014 referendum.

Sturgeon said she wanted to continue her campaign to get Scotland out of the UK. He argued that politics had changed in important ways since 2014 when England left the European Union, which Scottish voters did not support, and that his Scottish National Party had a clear democratic mandate to hold the referendum.

Sturgeon, who leads the Scottish National Party, has said that if his government loses the court case, he will make Britain’s next national election a de facto referendum on the end of Scotland’s three-century union with England. She didn’t give details on how it would work.

Like Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland has its own devolved government and makes its own policies on issues such as health and education. The UK government in London controls fiscal policy, defense and other matters.