The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said the Court of Session in Edinburgh granted it leave to appeal to the UK Supreme Court against the Scottish Government’s plans to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol.
SWA acting chief executive Julie Hesketh-Laird said: ”We have today received notification from the Court of Session in Edinburgh that our application for leave to appeal to the UK Supreme Court regarding minimum unit pricing (MUP) has been granted.
“We now hope the appeal can be heard quickly by the Supreme Court, with a final ruling next year.”
Under the Scottish Government’s plans, a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol would be set — meaning a bottle of spirits would cost at least £14, the cheapest bottle of wine would be £4.69, and a four-pack of 500ml cans of 4% lager would cost at least £4.
The Court of Session — Scotland’s highest civil court — had given its approval in October to the Scottish Government’s plans to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol, rejecting the legal challenge from the SWA.
But on November 18, the SWA said it would seek leave to appeal to the UK Supreme Court.
The SWA has maintained that minimum pricing is incompatible with EU law and likely to be ineffective.