Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971

23 Transfer of court houses to Secretary of State

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, there shall on the transfer date be transferred to and vest in the Secretary of State by virtue of this subsection all interests held by—

(a) a county council, being interests in or attaching to property used immediately before the transfer date by them for the purposes of their functions under the Sheriff Court Houses (Scotland) Acts 1860 to 1884 (which provide for the provision and maintenance of sheriff court houses);

(b) Court House Commissioners or other bodies charged with the like functions (such Commissioners and other bodies being hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as Commissioners), being interests in or attaching to property used immediately before the transfer date by them for the purposes of functions conferred on them by any local enactment, being functions relating to the provision or maintenance of a sheriff court house.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, all rights, liabilities and obligations to which a county council or Commissioners were entitled or subject immediately before the transfer date, being rights, liabilities and obligations acquired or incurred for the purposes of any such functions as are mentioned in paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above, shall on the transfer date be transferred to and vest in the Secretary of State by virtue of this subsection.

(3) Subject to the provisions of this section, where before the transfer date a local authority have paid to Commissioners any sum levied on that authority by those Commissioners under any local enactment, being a sum so levied for the purpose of enabling or assisting the Commissioners to discharge any such functions as are mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above, then any liabilities or obligations to which the authority were subject immediately before the transfer date shall, to the extent that they were incurred for the purpose of enabling or assisting the authority to pay the said sum, be transferred to and vest in the Secretary of State by virtue of this subsection on the transfer date.

(4) There shall be apportioned between the Secretary of State and the other persons concerned—

(a) interests in or attaching to property used partly for the purposes of the functions mentioned in paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above and partly for other purposes;

(b) periodical sums payable in respect of such interests;

(c) rights, liabilities and obligations acquired or incurred partly for the purposes of any such functions as are mentioned in paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above and partly for other purposes.

(5) The Secretary of State may make regulations providing—

(a) for the completion of the title of the Secretary of State to heritable property vesting in him by virtue of this section;

(b) for the granting of the deeds required to transfer to and vest in the Secretary of State and the other persons concerned, with effect from the transfer date, the appropriate shares of such interests, sums, rights, liabilities or obligations as are specified in subsection (4) of this section;

(c) for any other matters for which provision appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of securing the effective transfer of any assets vesting in the Secretary of State by virtue of this section;

(d) for securing that anything done by or in relation to a county council or, as the case may be, Commissioners before the transfer date in connection with the exercise of any such functions as are mentioned in paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above is deemed on and after that date to have been done by or in relation to the Secretary of State and, without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, that anything begun before that date by a county council or, as the case may be. Commissioners in the exercise of their said functions may be carried on and completed on and after that date by the Secretary of State ;

and any such regulations may contain such incidental, supplemental or consequential provisions as appear to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

(6) The power to make regulations under subsection (5) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument, which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(7) In this section references to the Secretary of State are references to the Secretary of State for the Environment.