Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025

66 Conduct or regulatory complaint raised by relevant professional organisation

(1) The 2007 Act is amended as follows.

(2) In section 33 (duty of relevant professional organisations to forward complaints to Commission)—

(a) the existing provision becomes subsection (1),

(b) after paragraph (b) of that subsection (and before the closing words) insert—

“(c) the compliance by any authorised legal business that is authorised by the organisation to provide legal services with—

(i) the organisation’s practice rules forming part of the rules for authorising and regulating the authorised legal business made under (or for the purposes of) section 41(1)(a) of the 2025 Act), or

(ii) the terms on which the authorisation of the authorised legal business is granted by the organisation including any conditions or restrictions imposed in relation to the authorisation,”,

(c) after that subsection insert—

“(2) Subsection (1)(a) is subject to section 33A(2) (conduct complaint identified by a relevant professional organisation).

(3) Subsection (1)(c) is subject to section 33B(2) (regulatory complaint identified by relevant professional organisation).”.

(3) After section 33 insert—

“33A Conduct complaint identified by relevant professional organisation

(1) This section applies where, in the course of exercising any of its functions conferred by or under this Act or the 2025 Act other than those relating to a handling complaint, a relevant professional organisation—

(a) identifies a matter of concern regarding the conduct of a practitioner who is regulated by it, and

(b) is satisfied that the matter, if it were to be referred to the Commission as mentioned in section 2(1)(a), would be considered by the Commission to be an eligible conduct complaint in accordance with any provision in rules made under section 32(1).

(2) Despite subsection (1)(a) of section 33, the relevant professional organisation need not refer the matter (or any material relating to it) to the Commission under that subsection and may instead treat the matter as if it were a conduct complaint remitted to it under section 6(2) (and the conduct complaint is to be treated for the purposes of this Part as having been made by the relevant professional organisation).

(3) Where the relevant professional organisation treats the matter as mentioned in subsection (2), the relevant professional organisation must—

(a) have regard to the interests of any clients (or former clients) of the practitioner to whom the complaint relates (or clients or former clients of the practitioner’s firm or the employing practitioner) who may have been affected by the conduct of the practitioner, and

(b) as soon as practicable send details of the matter and any material relating to it to the Commission.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3)(a), where the relevant professional organisation upholds the conduct complaint against the practitioner, the organisation must notify any client (or former client) of the practitioner (or the practitioner’s firm or the employing practitioner) whom it considers was directly affected by the conduct of the practitioner of the outcome of the complaint.

(5) Where the Commission receives details about a matter (and any material relating to it) under subsection (3)(b) from the relevant professional organisation, the Commission must consider the details (and any related material) provided to it to consider whether the matter constitutes a services complaint (to any extent).

33B Regulatory complaint identified by relevant professional organisation

(1) This section applies where, in the course of exercising any of its functions conferred by or under this Act or the 2025 Act other than those relating to a handling complaint, a relevant professional organisation—

(a) identifies a matter of concern suggesting that an authorised legal business that is authorised by it to provide legal services is failing (or has failed) to comply with a matter mentioned in section 2(1)(c)(i) or (ii), and

(b) is satisfied that the matter, if it were to be referred to the Commission as mentioned in section 2(1)(c), would be considered by the Commission to be an eligible regulatory complaint in accordance with any provision in rules made under section 32(1).

(2) Despite subsection (1)(c) of section 33, the relevant professional organisation need not refer the matter (or any material relating to it) to the Commission and may treat the matter as if it were a regulatory complaint remitted to it by the Commission under section 7A(2) (and the regulatory complaint is to be treated for the purposes of this Part as having been made by the relevant professional organisation).

(3) Where the relevant professional organisation treats the matter as mentioned in subsection (2), the organisation must as soon as practicable send details of the matter (and any material relating to it) to the Commission.

(4) Where the Commission receives details about a matter (and any material relating to it) under subsection (3) from the relevant professional organisation, the Commission must consider the details (and any related material) provided to it to consider whether the matter constitutes a services complaint (to any extent).

33C Recategorisation of conduct or regulatory complaint by relevant professional organisation

(1) Subsection (2) applies where a relevant professional organisation—

(a) at any time during its investigation in relation to a conduct complaint remitted to it under section 6(2) (or treated as such by virtue of section 33A(2)), considers that the complaint (or any element of it) instead constitutes a regulatory complaint, or

(b) at any time during its investigation in relation to a regulatory complaint remitted to it under section 7A(2) (or treated as such by virtue of section 33B(2)), considers that the complaint (or any element of it) instead constitutes a conduct complaint.

(2) The relevant professional organisation must as soon as practicable send details to the Commission of the organisation’s recategorisation of the complaint (or any element of it) as mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1).

(3) For the purpose of subsection (1)(a), the relevant professional organisation may consider that the conduct complaint (or an element of it) is a regulatory complaint if the organisation is satisfied that the complaint (or the element of it), if it were to be referred to the Commission as mentioned in section 2(1)(c), would be considered by the Commission to be an eligible regulatory complaint in accordance with any provision in rules made under section 32(1).

(4) For the purpose of subsection (1)(b), the relevant professional organisation may consider that the regulatory complaint (or an element of it) is a conduct complaint if the organisation is satisfied that the complaint (or the element of it), if it were to be referred to the Commission as mentioned in section 2(1)(a), would be considered by the Commission to be an eligible conduct complaint in accordance with any provision in rules made under section 32(1).”.