Referendums (Scotland) Act 2020

Legal proceedings

39 Restriction on legal challenge to referendum result

(1) No court may entertain any proceedings for questioning the number of ballot papers counted or votes cast as certified by a counting officer or by the Chief Counting Officer under section 9(2)(b) or (as the case may be) (4) unless—

(a) the proceedings are brought by way of a petition for judicial review, and

(b) the petition is lodged before the end of the permitted period.

(2) In subsection (1)(b) “the permitted period” means the period of 8 weeks beginning with—

(a) the day on which the officer in question makes the certification as to the number of ballot papers counted and votes cast in the referendum, or

(b) if the officer makes more than one such certification, the day on which the last is made.

(3) In subsection (1), references to a petition for judicial review are references to an application to the supervisory jurisdiction of the Court of Session.