The Scottish Authorities has spent practically £30,000 on authorized recommendation on referring its draft indyref2 invoice to the Supreme Court docket.
Disclosure of the sum was revealed on the identical day because the SNP revealed their submission on why they imagine Holyrood can organise a referendum.
They argued that holding a vote solely has a “unfastened” connection” to areas reserved to Westminster.
Nicola Sturgeon 's Authorities is testing Holyrood’s powers to stage a referendum unilaterally after the UK Authorities refused a joint settlement.
The Lord Advocate referred the draft invoice to the Supreme Court docket for a ruling after admitting she lacked the mandatory confidence within the Parliament’s powers.
The Supreme Court docket will assess the case in October.
In a freedom of data request, the Authorities confirmed the whole invoice as of June twenty eighth on exterior counsel for the referral was £27,193.
On the identical time, the SNP’s submission to the Supreme Court docket was launched on the celebration’s web site.
It states: “In search of to check the views of the Scottish folks by means of a referendum is completely competent and, standing the continued electoral mandate given to the applicant as set out above, it's democratically unthinkable that the folks of Scotland could be denied such a proper to precise their view.”
Scottish Lib Dem chief Alex Cole-Hamilton stated: "That is yet one more authorized invoice that ought to have been spent on serving to Scottish households deal with the cost-of-living disaster.
"The Scottish Authorities has a military of in-house attorneys and their case shall be led by the impeccably credentialed Lord Advocate. That makes it even stranger that they might be talking to exterior counsel.
"Maybe Dorothy Bain's apparent discomfort with this whole authorized wheeze is pushing them in direction of exterior advisers."
The Scottish Authorities has been contacted.
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