Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025

35 Replacement regulatory arrangements for authorised providers

(1) Where an accredited regulator is a discontinuing regulator as mentioned in paragraph (d) of the definition of that term as set out in subsection (6), the Lord President must consult each authorised provider to determine in particular whether a majority of the authorised providers would like another category 1 or category 2 regulator to authorise them to exercise their acquired rights and regulate their exercise of the acquired rights (if that other regulator is content to so authorise and regulate them).

(2) Subsection (3) applies where the Lord President is satisfied that—

(a) following consultation under subsection (1), section 30(4) or 34(3) or paragraph 18(2) of schedule 2 (as the case may be), a majority of the authorised providers of a discontinuing regulator would like another category 1 or category 2 regulator to authorise them to exercise their acquired rights and regulate their exercise of the acquired rights, and

(b) the other category 1 or category 2 regulator (“the receiving regulator”) is willing to authorise and regulate the authorised providers of the discontinuing regulator.

(3) The Lord President may—

(a) in a case where the receiving regulator falls within subsection (4), amend the regulatory functions of the receiving regulator to enable it to regulate the authorised providers of the discontinuing regulator,

(b) in any other case, request that the Scottish Ministers make regulations under subsection (5) to amend the functions of the receiving regulator.

(4) A regulator falls within this subsection if it is an accredited regulator or a body which has had an application under section 25 of the 1990 Act granted under section 26 of that Act.

(5) Following a request of the Lord President under subsection (3)(b), the Scottish Ministers may lay a draft of a Scottish statutory instrument containing regulations before the Scottish Parliament to amend the regulatory functions of the receiving regulator.

(6) In this section—

• “authorised provider” means a legal services provider that is authorised by a discontinuing regulator to provide legal services,

• “discontinuing regulator” means an accredited regulator that—

  (a)

  is the subject of a potential measure as mentioned in section 19(4)(f) to remove all of its regulatory functions,

  (b)

  has made an application under section 30,

  (c)

  is the subject of regulations to revoke its approval under section 34, or

  (d)

  has ceased operating otherwise than in accordance with any of the ways mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c),

• “regulatory complaint” is to be construed in accordance with Part 1 of the 2007 Act,

• “services complaint” is to be construed in accordance with Part 1 of the 2007 Act.

(7) Regulations under subsection (5)—

(a) may modify any enactment,

(b) are subject to the affirmative procedure.