With only two days to go until The Scottish Parliament takes up its full powers, the historic ‘Claim of Right for Scotland’ document was today handed over to the Parliament by the Scottish Constitutional Convention.

Almost exactly 10 years since the declaration was adopted at the inaugural meeting of the Convention – held in the current temporary home of the Parliament – the Claim of Right was presented to the Parliament’s Presiding Officer Sir David Steel by Canon Kenyon Wright, chair of the Convention’s executive committee.

Speaking at the hand-over ceremony in the Parliament’s Education Centre at Cannonball House, Sir David said:

"Today it is a privilege and great personal honour for me to be able to accept, on behalf of the Scottish Parliament, the Claim of Right. I should like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to the significant amount of work which a great many people have undertaken over the years to reach the point we are at today.

"There are far too many people for me to thank personally and I would not wish to single out anyone who is here. In saying this, however, I hope that it will be acceptable if I do mention two people who I believe showed a particular determination in pursuing their vision for Scotland.

"These are the late Sir Robert Grieve who was Chairman of the Constitutional Steering Committee and Jim Ross who was its Secretary. The setting up of this Parliament has been in part due to the tenacity of these two people and many others like them.

"The views of the people of Scotland have been listened to, and I hope that the Parliament will live up to the many aspirations and expectations placed of it. I am already certain that this is one of the most innovative Parliaments in Europe, if not further afield.

"We are meeting today in what is the Education Centre – something which is sadly lacking at Westminster. After the Summer Recess this building is expected to be bursting at the seams with children who are eager to learn more about the Parliament and what the Parliament does. The demand, I am told, is already substantial. This will provide the children of today and future generations the opportunity to learn at first hand what we do on a day to day basis."

The Convention held its inaugural meeting on 30 March, 1989 in the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly Hall in Edinburgh. It adopted a declaration, which was signed by all its members. This was a Claim of Right, the third in Scotland’s history, and its purpose was to root the Convention solidly in the historical and historic Scottish constitutional principle that power is limited, should be dispersed and is derived from the people.

The Claim of Right states:

"We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of Government best suited to their needs, and do hereby declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberations their interests shall be paramount.

"We further declare and pledge that our actions and deliberations shall be directed to the following ends:

To agree a scheme for an Assembly or Parliament for Scotland;

To mobilise Scottish opinion and ensure the approval of the Scottish people for that scheme; and

To assert the right of the Scottish people to secure the implementation of that scheme."