Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025

41 Rules for authorised legal businesses

(1) A category 1 regulator must—

(a) make rules for authorising and regulating legal businesses (“ALB rules”),

(b) apply its ALB rules in relation to the legal businesses for which it is responsible, and

(c) publish its ALB rules in a manner that is accessible to the public, free of charge, by such electronic means as the regulator considers appropriate.

(2) ALB rules are to—

(a) contain—

(i) authorisation rules,

(ii) practice rules,

(b) include provision for reconciling different sets of regulatory rules, and

(c) deal with such other regulatory matters as the Scottish Ministers may by regulations specify (and in such manner as the regulations may specify).

(3) ALB rules may—

(a) relate to—

(i) one or more types of legal business,

(ii) some or all legal services,

(iii) other services (in addition to legal services) that form part of the professional practice of solicitors, or qualifying individuals, within a legal business,

(b) make different provision for different cases or types of case.

(4) A category 1 regulator may not amend its ALB rules (or any of them) without the prior approval of the Lord President.

(5) In making any material amendment of its ALB rules, a category 1 regulator must consult—

(a) its members,

(b) the Competition and Markets Authority,

(c) the Commission,

(d) the independent advisory panel of the Commission,

(e) Consumer Scotland, and

(f) such other persons or bodies it considers appropriate.

(6) A category 1 regulator, in submitting an amendment of its ALB rules for approval under subsection (4), must submit copies of any written representations received in response to the consultation under subsection (5).

(7) The Scottish Ministers may exercise the power to make regulations under subsection (2)(c) only if they have received a request to exercise the power from—

(a) the Lord President,

(b) the regulatory committee of a category 1 regulator,

(c) a category 1 regulator that has no functions other than regulatory functions, or

(d) the independent advisory panel of the Commission.

(8) Before making a request under subsection (7), the person making the request (“the requester”) must—

(a) consult—

(i) the regulatory committee (if any) of each category 1 regulator,

(ii) each category 1 regulator that has no functions other than regulatory functions,

(iii) the independent advisory panel of the Commission, and

(iv) such other person or body as the requester considers appropriate, and

(b) except where the requester is the Lord President, secure the Lord President’s agreement to the making of the request.

(9) But a body mentioned in subsection (8)(a)(i) to (iii) does not need to be consulted if the body is the requester.

(10) For the purpose of seeking the Lord President’s agreement under subsection (8)(b), the requester must provide to the Lord President—

(a) a document setting out—

(i) an explanation of the change sought by the proposed exercise of the power, and

(ii) the reasons for seeking the change,

(b) copies of any written representations received in response to the consultation under subsection (8)(a).

(11) A request under subsection (7) must include—

(a) a document setting out—

(i) an explanation of the change sought by the proposed exercise of the power, and

(ii) the reasons for seeking the change,

(b) copies of any written representations received in response to the consultation under subsection (8)(a), and

(c) except where the requester is the Lord President, written confirmation of the Lord President’s agreement to the making of the request.

(12) As soon as reasonably practicable after making a request under subsection (7), the requester must publish the documents included with the request in such manner as the requester considers appropriate (having regard to the desirability of the documents being accessible to those likely to have an interest in them).

(13) In subsection (3)(a), a “qualifying individual” has the meaning given in section 39(10).

(14) Regulations under subsection (2)(c) are subject to the affirmative procedure.