Brexit as constitutional "shock" and its threat to the devolution settlement: reform or bust

The devolution settlement was not designed to withstand such a major shock as Brexit and, furthermore, Brexit has demonstrated key weaknesses in the devolution design (an argument that is even more fundamental for Northern Ireland). This would point to a logical conclusion: to rectify these problems either the devolution design needs to be fundamentally redrawn post- Brexit allowing a distinct Scottish voice to be heard and given force or independence as a solution

United Nations' Commission on the status of Women

This thesis is a study of the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women from its establishment in 19^6 to 1980. The study is divided into eight chapters examining the background to the Commission, its working methods, its place within the United Nations' system, the work of the Commission in the elaboration of international standards relating to the status of women and in the supervision of the implementation of these obligations, its decision making process, the role of the Women's International Non-Governmental Organisations in the work of the Commission, and, finally, an analysis of the 1980 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The thesis describes some of the changes which have taken place in the thirty-four years of activity in the Commission pointing out that the reasons for such developments lie in the changing composition of the Commission and the increasing interest of the political organs of the United Nations in questions relating to the status of women. The thesis concludes that the Commission needs to re-examine its role in the 1980s if it is to retain any credibility. As the Commission has already fulfilled many of the tasks which faced it in 19^6 it now remains to be seen whether the Commission can ensure the implementation of the principles which it has helped to develop over the past thirty years