Section 38 – commencement
154.Section 38 sets out when the provisions of the Act come into force (that is, when they begin to have an effect). For the most part, this will happen by regulations as determined by the Scottish Ministers. These regulations will be laid before the Scottish Parliament but will not otherwise be subject to any parliamentary procedure.(110) However, some of the final sections of the Act, including this section, came into force automatically on the day after the day on which the Bill for the Act received Royal Assent (so on 5 June 2024). Section 33 came into force on 16 July 2024 (which is the later of the two days specified, as Royal Assent was granted on 4 June 2024).(111)
155.In addition, this section provides that commencement regulations may include transitional, transitory or saving provision and may make different provision for different purposes.
This is by virtue of section 30 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.
Since section 33 modifies the application of the UNCRC Incorporation Act, it came into force on the same day as that Act.
