Scotland particularly in relation to taxation, were devolved to the Scottish Parliament after the referendum, following cross-party talks in the Smith Commission. The mainland of Scotland comprises the northern third of the land mass of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the north-west coast of Continental Europe. The total area is , comparable to the size of the Czech Republic. Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea
March law (Anglo-Scottish border) 1464 were not much more than a reiteration of those of 1457 that Henry VI and James II had signed. Border law worked even with the coming-back into power (briefly) of Henry VI and the accession of James III of Scotland. In 1473, new procedures for dealing with cross-border homicides were instituted, along with a limit on the number of retainers that could be invited to the days of march (which often ended in riotous behaviour, in part due to the sheer numbers of opposing armed bands). The war between England and Scotland of 1480-84 put the border courts into