(1)It shall be lawful for the Lord President, on the application of the Keeper, to make an order directing that such of the justice of the peace records of any county as may be specified in the order shall be transmitted to the Keeper on or before a date specified therein not being earlier than three months from the date of the order ;
Provided that no such order shall apply to any record which is of more recent date than twenty-five years before the date of the order, unless the Lord President is satisfied that adequate provision as regards care, indexing, and availability for consultation cannot otherwise be made.
(2)The clerk of the peace for any county shall have the custody, and be responsible for the proper care and preservation, of the justice of the peace records of that county which have not been transmitted under subsection (1) of this section to the Keeper, and shall in compliance with any request which the Keeper, with the consent of the Lord President, may, from time to time, make, prepare and send to the Keeper a report giving such information as may be specified in the request regarding—
(a)the nature, situation, and condition of all buildings in which any such records are kept;
(b)the age and condition of such records;
(c)the arrangements made for their care and preservation, and for indexing them and rendering them available for inspection by the public; and
(d)any other matters connected with the care and preservation of such records.