# What can I legally do in Scotland that is illegal in E&W (and vice versa)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861 "2014-12-10T17:38:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/41 "2014-12-12T20:47:54Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Yep, and undergraduate masters degrees are usually 5 years in Scotland, not 4. Yes. The idea was that University admission was on the basis of Higher results ie at the end of the 5th year of secondary schooling. Staying on for a sixth year of secondary school involved its own set of exams (Certificate of Sixth Year Studies) which covered roughly first year University material. Good enough grades in those exams could lead to direct entry into the second year of a Scottish degree. Scottish students, in theory, could go to a Scottish uni a year younger than others in the UK would go to a non-Scottish one. In my 1980s experience, most people who went to uni did a sixth year at school, and still entered in the first year of the uni course. I think nowadays the Advanced Higher (sixth-year) qualification is the uni benchmark, bringing it into line with the A-level system used in England and Wales, and I suspect the four year honours degree in Scotland is on its way out. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/42 "2014-12-12T21:19:32Z")
In Scotland you will shortly be unable to buy an pellet airgun without a licence from the government. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/43 "2014-12-13T11:56:20Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I don’t know the current status, but [a little on that](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam#In_Britain). It does say “The rights confirmed in the Scottish legislation are greater than the limited rights of access created in England and Wales by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW).” > > This concept is really big in Scandinavia. I do wonder if Scotland was influenced more by this, but that might be a coincidence. My guess is that due to the climate the land is likely to only be used for sheep grazing, if even that. In England and Wales there’s a lot more farm land with crops and animals that people want to protect. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861/44 "2014-12-13T14:18:04Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > I’m no expert in the slightest, but I’ve heard that property law is considerably different between Scotland and England & Wales. I wonder if a lawyer can chime in? It’s not just property law. Scotland is a civil law jurisdiction, meaning its law is based on the same civil law principles as most countries in continental Europe. Property law, contracts, delits (torts in common law terms) are different from English common law. Now, English common law has been influential in Scotland, but the ultimate source for Scots law is Roman civil law, with a heavy admixture of local Scottish customary law mixed in. In terms of legal methodology, Scotland is very unusual because it is one of the few civil law countries that has never codified its law, so court cases interpreting the law have more impact than many other civil law jurisdictions. And Scottish criminal law and procedure are different from English criminal law, being based again on a mixture of civil law principles and Scottish customary law. Because the differences are so significant, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (and the House of Lords before that) does not have any jurisdiction to hear appeals in Scottish criminal cases. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-legally-do-in-scotland-that-is-illegal-in-e-w-and-vice-versa/706861.md?page=2)