Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025

Prospective

Complaints S

31 (1) Section 53 of the 1980 Act (powers of Tribunal) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (1)—

(a) for paragraph (c) substitute—

“(c) an authorised legal business has been convicted by a court of an offence, which conviction the Tribunal is satisfied renders it unsuitable to continue—

(i) in a case where the business is an incorporated practice, to be recognised under section 34(1A), or

(ii) in any case, to be authorised to provide legal services, or”,

(b) in paragraph (d), for “incorporated practice” substitute “authorised legal business”.

(3) In subsection (2)—

(a) in paragraph (c), for “incorporated practice” substitute “authorised legal business”,

(b) in paragraph (d), for “incorporated practice” substitute “authorised legal business”,

(c) the “or” immediately after paragraph (f) is repealed,

(d) after paragraph (f), insert—

“(fa) order that the authorisation of a legal business to provide legal services be withdrawn, or”.

(4) In subsection (3A), in paragraph (b)—

(a) for “incorporated practice” where it first occurs substitute “authorised legal business”,

(b) after “34(1A)” insert “or had its authorisation to provide legal services withdrawn”.

(5) After subsection (5), insert—

“(5A) Where the Tribunal have exercised the power conferred by subsection (2) to censure, or impose a fine on, an authorised legal business, or to both censure and impose a fine—

(a) the Tribunal may order that the business’s authorisation is to be subject to such conditions as the Tribunal may direct, and

(b) the Council must give effect to such an order.”.

(6) After subsection (6A), insert—

“(6AA) Where the Tribunal order that the authorisation of a legal business to provide legal services be withdrawn, the Tribunal must direct that the order is to take effect on such date as the Tribunal specifies, being a date not earlier than 60 days after its order is intimated to the authorised legal business, and such an order is to take effect accordingly.”.

(7) In subsection (7), after “(6A)” in both places it occurs insert “, (6AA)”.

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. 1 para. 31 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 103(3)