Debatable land: an essay on the relationship between English and Scottish criminal law

This article proposes that a better understanding of the identity of Scots criminal law can be developed through an analysis of the similarities between English and Scots law rather than by concentrating on the differences. It argues that historically there are striking similarities between the two laws which have been overlooked or ignoredfor various reasons. It goes on to argue that many ofthe current differences between the two laws can be explained in terms of contemporary academic and institutional conditions, and that these offer a betterfoundation on which to construct a principled theoretical understanding of Scots criminal law