2.—(1) In this Order—
“the Act” means the Scotland Act 1998;
“Advocate General” means the Advocate General for Scotland;
“LO-date” means the date when section 44(1)(c) of the Act comes into force(1); and
“transitional period” means the period beginning with the LO-date and ending with the principal appointed day(2).
(2) Unless otherwise expressly provided, any reference in this Order to a numbered article is a reference to an article bearing that number in this order and any reference in an article to a numbered paragraph is to a paragraph bearing that number in that Article.
In terms of the Scotland Act 1998 (Commencement) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/3179), section 44(1)(c) comes into force on 20th May 1999. It is the date when the Lord Advocate ceases to be a Minister of the Crown and becomes a member of the Scottish Executive.
Article 3 by virtue of the Scotland Act 1998 (Commencement) Order 1998 specifies 1st July 1999 as the principal appointed day for the purposes of the Act.