Scots' Referendum Raises a Slew of Legal Issues

With their promise to hold a referendum on independence, Scotland’s politicians have already sparked a lively debate with their English neighbors. Now the issue is prompting questions among their continental ones, too.

During a visit to Brussels this week, Scotland’s deputy first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, argued that Scottish independence, if approved in a referendum expected in 2014, could usher her country smoothly into the European Union as a separate member