Lets defer to the written evidence:
In the event of independence, Scotland would be a new state, and the rest of the
United Kingdom (“rUK”) would be the continuator state. I understand that Scottish
Ministers sometimes seek to resist this, but they have yet to put forward any
convincing legal argument to challenge it. As the continuator state, the public
institutions of the UK would, as a matter of law, automatically become the
institutions of the rUK: thus the UK Parliament would become the Parliament of
the rUK and the UK Supreme Court would become the Supreme Court of the
rUK. In contrast, the assets and liabilities of the UK would fall to be apportioned
equitably between an independent Scotland and the rUK. Again, this is a matter
of law. What “equitably” means depends on the nature of the asset.
Fixed assets belonging to the UK and located in Scotland would become the
property of the new Scottish state (this includes Government buildings in
Scotland and, of course, the Scottish Parliament). No compensation would be
due to the rUK or to rUK taxpayers. (Likewise, fixed assets in the rest of the UK
would become the property of the rUK.) Moveable assets and liabilities would be
apportioned most likely on the basis of share of population but possibly in some
instances on the basis of share of GDP. The precise apportionment of such
assets and liabilities would be a matter of negotiation.
Overseas assets, including the UK’s Embassies etc, would become the property
of the continuator state: the rUK. As the UK Government correctly explained in its
Scotland Analysis paper on EU and International Issues (January 2014), “an
independent Scottish state would not be entitled by right to any UK diplomatic
premises, equipment or staff”. This is because bodies that support the UK now
would continue to operate on behalf of the rUK in the event of Scottish
independence. Again, I stress that this is a matter of law. The relevant legal
position was fully and authoritatively set out in an opinion co-authored by
Professors James Crawford and Alan Boyle, which was published in its entirety
by the UK Government in its first Scotland Analysis paper in February 2013.
Thus the statement quoted above from p.211 of the White Paper is legally
inaccurate.
Seems pretty clear that the ‘Scotlands future’ white paper is just plain wrong!