Legislation – Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025

The Lord President is to consider an application submitted under section 23(1) and must consider any written representations made to the Lord President in accordance with section 26(3) and (4).

(2)

The Lord President may not consider the application if the Lord President is not satisfied that the requirements of section 26 have been complied with.

(3)

The Lord President may make preliminary observations to the body in relation to the draft regulatory scheme accompanying the application.

(4)

In the event that the body makes adjustments to the draft regulatory scheme in response to preliminary observations made under subsection (3), the Lord President is to consider the draft scheme as so adjusted.

(5)

The Lord President, when considering a draft regulatory scheme, is—

(a)

to have regard to whether the provisions of the scheme would be sufficient to achieve, and to ensure the maintenance of, appropriate standards of conduct and practice by persons who may acquire the rights sought, and

(b)

to consult—

(i)

the Scottish Ministers,

(ii)

the Competition and Markets Authority,

(iii)

the independent advisory panel of the Commission, and

(iv)

such other persons as the Lord President considers appropriate.

(6)

In considering the proposed practice rules, the Lord President is to have regard to the desirability of there being common principles applying in relation to the exercising of rights to conduct litigation and rights of audience by all practitioners in relation to the court or, as the case may be, the courts, mentioned in the application.

28Approval of application and giving effect to the regulatory scheme

(1)

This section applies where the Lord President has considered an application in accordance with section 27.

(2)

If the Lord President—

(a)

is satisfied with the draft regulatory scheme, the Lord President is to approve the application and inform the body,

(b)

is not satisfied with the draft scheme, the Lord President is to refuse the application and inform the body, giving written reasons for the refusal.

(3)

As soon as reasonably practicable after notifying the body under subsection (2) of the decision to approve or refuse the application, the Lord President must publish notification of the decision.

(4)

Notification under subsection (3) must—

(a)

include a summary of the Lord President’s reasons for the decision, and

(b)

be published in such manner as the Lord President considers appropriate (having regard to the desirability of the document being accessible to those likely to have an interest in it).

(5)

The Lord President must send a copy of a letter approving or refusing an application under this section to any person who has made representations in relation to the draft regulatory scheme under section 26(3).

(6)

Where the application has been approved, the Scottish Ministers must, as soon as reasonably practicable, lay before the Scottish Parliament draft regulations under section 7(5) to assign the body as a category 1 or category 2 regulator.

(7)

If a body’s application is approved under this section, as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving notice of the Lord President’s approval under subsection (2), the body must—

(a)

give effect to the draft regulatory scheme and apply it as its regulatory scheme in relation to its authorised providers and persons applying to it for authorisation, and

(b)

publish its regulatory scheme in a manner that is accessible to the public, free of charge, by such electronic means as the body considers appropriate.

(8)

For the purposes of this Part, a body which has its application approved under this section is referred to as an accredited regulator.