Legal proceedings
34Restriction 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 7(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 6 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.