EU LEGISLATION IN SCOTLAND
Under the terms of the EU treaties, the European Union can agree legislative acts which can either take immediate direct effect over all Member States or call for national governments to implement the requirements into their own national law.
Legislation made by the EU institutions can take the forms of Decisions, Regulations and Directives. Decisions and Regulations, once passed, apply uniformly across the EU and there is no requirement for Member States to adapt them into their own national legislation. Directives, in contrast, require Member States to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. They leave the practical details of implementation, i.e. transposing the new legislation into national law, to the Member States.
In Scotland's case, the Scotland Act gives the Scottish Parliament authority to implement EU law for Scotland where the subject matter of the new piece of legislation falls within or affects a devolved policy area.