The Scottish Administration (Offices) Order 2018

Statutory Instruments

2018 No. 781

Constitutional Law

Devolution, Scotland

The Scottish Administration (Offices) Order 2018

Made

27th June 2018

Laid before Parliament

4th July 2018

Laid before the Scottish Parliament

4th July 2018

Coming into force in accordance with article 1

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 27th day of June 2018

Present,

The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred on Her by section 126(8)(b) of the Scotland Act 1998(1), is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order as follows:

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Scottish Administration (Offices) Order 2018 and comes into force on the same day as section 14 of the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018 (auditors of court)(2) comes into force.

Specification of offices

2.  The following offices are specified for the purposes of section 126(8)(b) of the Scotland Act 1998 (offices in the Scottish Administration which are not ministerial offices)—

(a) the Auditor of the Court of Session appointed under section 14(3) of the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018;

(b) the auditor of the Sheriff Appeal Court appointed under that section;

(c) the auditor of the sheriff court appointed under that section.

Richard Tilbrook      

Clerk of the Privy Council

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order specifies the Auditor of the Court of Session, the auditor of the Sheriff Appeal Court and the auditor of the sheriff court (“auditors of court”) as offices in the Scottish Administration which are not ministerial offices for the purposes of the Scotland Act 1998.

Section 14(3) of the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018 (“the 2018 Act”) provides for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to appoint auditors of court. Article 2 establishes these offices as offices in the Scottish Administration.

This Order is required to make the auditors of court offices of the Scottish Administration, as is the case for all other offices of court by virtue of the Scottish Administration (Offices) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/1127) and the Scottish Administration (Offices) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/200).

Under this Order only those auditors who are appointed under section 14(3) of the 2018 Act will be members of the Scottish Administration. Existing auditors of court have a different employment status to auditors of court appointed under section 14(3) and will not be members of the Scottish Administration unless they are appointed under section 14(3).

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.

(1)

1998 c.46.

(2)

2018 asp 10.