Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025

55 Regulatory complaints against authorised legal businesses

(1) The 2007 Act is amended as follows.

(2) After section 7, insert—

“7A Complaint determined to be a regulatory complaint

(1) This section applies where the Commission determines that a complaint referred to in section 2(1) or 2A(1) is—

(a) wholly a regulatory complaint, or

(b) includes one or more elements constituting a regulatory complaint.

(2) The Commission must remit the complaint (or the part of the complaint constituting a regulatory complaint) to the relevant professional organisation to deal with (and give to the organisation any material which accompanies the regulatory complaint).

(3) It does not matter for the purpose of subsection (1) (and the application of this section) whether the Commission’s determination mentioned in that subsection follows its earlier determination that the complaint is a services complaint (to any extent) and, having investigated the complaint, the Commission subsequently determines that it is instead a regulatory complaint (to any extent).”.

(3) After section 52, insert—

“52A Regulatory complaints: duty of regulator to investigate etc.

(1) Where a regulatory complaint is remitted to the relevant professional organisation under section 7A(2) (or treated as having been remitted to them under that section by virtue of section 33B(2)), the relevant professional organisation must investigate it and, subject to subsection (2), determine the complaint.

(2) The relevant professional organisation may decide—

(a) to discontinue an investigation of a regulatory complaint,

(b) to reinstate the investigation of a discontinued regulatory complaint,

but only if the organisation considers that this is in the public interest.

(3) As soon as practicable after making a decision under subsection (2), the relevant professional organisation must give notice in writing of its decision to the complainer, the practitioner and the Commission by—

(a) sending them a copy of the decision, and

(b) specifying the reason for the decision.

(4) In addition, notice under subsection (3) given to the complainer or the practitioner, must also give them information about any—

(a) right of appeal, and

(b) ability to make a handling complaint to the Commission.

(5) After determining the regulatory complaint, the relevant professional organisation must make a written report to the complainer, the practitioner and the Commission of—

(a) any facts of the matter as found by the relevant professional organisation,

(b) the relevant professional organisation’s determination and the reasons for that determination,

(c) what action (if any) the relevant professional organisation proposes to take, or has taken, in the matter in accordance with the rules for authorising and regulating legal businesses made by the relevant professional organisation under (or for the purposes of) section 41(1)(a) of the 2025 Act, and

(d) if the relevant professional organisation does not propose to take, or has not taken, any action in the matter, an explanation of why this is the case.

(6) When making a written report under subsection (5), the relevant professional organisation must also give notice in writing to the complainer and the practitioner of any right of appeal or ability to make a handling complaint by virtue of section 23.

(7) The relevant professional organisation must, in considering what action (if any) to take as mentioned in subsection (5)(c), take into account any decision taken by the Commission in respect of a services complaint against the practitioner where the services complaint arises from the same matter to which the regulatory complaint relates.

(8) Each relevant professional organisation must ensure that its procedures for dealing with regulatory complaints do not conflict with the duty imposed on it by section 24(4) in relation to any report sent to it under that section or any direction by the Commission under section 24(6).”.