Government amendments removed from the Legal Services Regulation Bill

Government proposals for new levels of direct government control and involvement in how Scottish solicitors work are to be removed from the Legal Services Regulation Bill, which the Society says preserves supremacy of the rule of law.

The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill was published by the Scottish Government in 2023. With many parts of the Bill including important and long overdue reforms to legal services regulation, the draft legislation contained far-reaching new powers for the Scottish Government to directly control and involve itself in the work of Scottish lawyers.

The proposals were unsurprisingly met with widespread criticism by the profession, with the Scottish Judiciary warning that Scotland would “be viewed internationally as a country whose legal system is open to political abuse” and the International Bar Association describing the proposed political interference as “disturbing” and “shocking”.

The Society has now completed a full review of over 500 amendments which the Scottish Government lodged last month. Writing to members of the Scottish Parliament's Equalities, Human Rights & Civil Justice Committee today, the Society welcomed the government's amendments in relation to political intervention and confirmed that they do fully respond to the concerns raised.

Susan Murray, President of the Society commented: “This is an important moment for preservation of supremacy of the rule of law in Scotland and independence of the Scottish legal profession.

“A cornerstone of any free and fair democracy is the ability of its legal profession to act free from political control. Solicitors play a vital role in challenging governments on behalf of clients, protecting citizens from the excessive use of power by the state and holding the politically powerful to account.

“We are pleased and relieved to see that the government’s amendments to the Bill either remove ministerial powers completely, or transfer them to the Lord President, as the independent head of our justice system.  This is a major milestone on the road to new regulatory legislation for the legal profession in Scotland, and a welcome outcome to the 18-month long campaign by the Law Society and legal colleagues to assure the independence of our legal profession.

“We hope these amendments will be approved in parliament later this month. This will allow us to refocus on the reforms needed to improve the existing regulatory system and deliver a quicker and simpler complaints system alongside stronger public protection.”