Building (Scotland) Act 2003

53 Crown application

(1) This Act binds the Crown.

(2) Subsection (1) does not require subordinate legislation made under this Act to bind the Crown.

(3) No contravention by the Crown of any provision made by or under this Act makes the Crown criminally liable; but the Court of Session may, on the application of any public body or office-holder having responsibility for enforcing that provision, declare unlawful any act or omission of the Crown which constitutes such a contravention.

(4) Despite subsection (3), any provision made by or under this Act applies to persons in the public service of the Crown as it applies to other persons.

(5) In the application of this Act to the Crown, “owner”—

(a) in the case of a building belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown and forming part of the Crown Estate, means the Crown Estate Commissioners,

(b) in the case of any other building belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown, means the office-holder in the Scottish Administration or, as the case may be, government department having management of the building,

(c) in the case of a building belonging to an office-holder in the Scottish Administration or to a government department or held in trust for the purposes of the Scottish Administration or a government department, means that office-holder or government department.

(6) It is for the Scottish Ministers to determine any question which arises as to who is, for the purposes of this Act, the owner of a building falling within paragraphs (a) to (c) of subsection (5); and their decision is final.