The Scottish Government is "unlikely to succeed" in its attempt to convince the Supreme Court it has the legal power to stage a second referendum on independence, a legal expert has warned.
A two-day hearing in London this week heard arguments over who has ultimate say on when a vote on the constitution can be held.
David Allen Green, a barrister and well-known legal commentator, said the position taken on behalf of SNP ministers amounted to a "clever wheeze".
"There is no dispute that actual independence is a matter legally reserved for the parliament in Westminster," he wrote on his blog.
"Nonetheless the Scottish Government has come up with this clever wheeze of saying that even though the Union is a reserved matter, there should be nothing to stop it holding an advisory referendum on the issue."
Nicola Sturgeon's government wants an IndyRef2 to take place on October 19 next year - but only if such a plan cannot be subjected to a legal challenge from opponents.
Scotland's top legal officer, the Lord Advocate, was asked by SNP ministers to refer the case to the Supreme Court to make a ruling.
The UK Government claims that constitutional matters are reserved to Westminster and the case should be thrown out.
Green continued: "The Scottish government needs to jump two hurdles. The first is the jurisdictional hurdle of whether this is a question that can even be answered by the Supreme Court at this stage.
"The second is the substantial hurdle of whether such an advisory referendum is within the competence of the Scottish Parliament. On the balance of probability, any party to litigation needing to jump two such high hurdles is unlikely to succeed."
He added: "My own personal view from having watched some of the hearing is that the Lord Advocate – on behalf of the Scottish government – put the case as well as it could be.
"In particular, she explained the legal route that the Supreme Court could take should it want to do so."
Judges warned this week it could be "some months" before a final written verdict is issued in the case as more than 8,000 pages of legal documents must be reviewed. Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to respect the outcome of the case regardless of its ruling.
The First Minister has previously said she would turn the next general election into a "de facto" referendum if the Supreme Court ruled against her government.
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