s 19 Scrutiny of Assembly Bills
(1) The Secretary of State shall consider every Bill passed by the Assembly and, if he is of opinion that any of its provisions is not within the legislative competence of the Assembly, he shall refer the question whether that provision is within that competence to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for decision and he may also do so if he is of opinion that there is sufficient doubt about it to justify the reference; but no such reference shall be made in a case falling within subsection (2) below or section 38(3) of this Act. (2) If, after considering a Bill in pursuance of subsection (1) above, the Secretary of State is of opinion that the Bill is not compatible with Community obligations or any other international obligations of the United Kingdom or that it provides for matters which are or ought to be provided for by or under legislation passed by Parliament and implementing any such obligation, he shall certify to the Assembly that he is of that opinion and shall not submit the Bill to Her Majesty in Council for approval. / (3) The decision of the Judicial Committee on any question. referred to it under this section shall be stated in open court. Scotland Act 1978 c. 51 (4) If the Judicial Committee decides that any provision of a Bill is not within the legislative competence of the Assembly the Secretary of State shall not submit the Bill to Her Majesty in Council for approval ; and if the Judicial Committee decides that a provision is within the legislative competence of the Assembly the decision shall be binding in all legal proceedings.