Scottish version agreed of UK Government services contract

A Scottish version of the major UK Government services contract has been agreed, permitting disputes to be resolved in Scotland, the Advocate General for Scotland announced today.

Lord Keen of Elie QC told a meeting of the Scottish Legal Services Co-Ordination Group in Edinburgh that he had reached an agreement with the Cabinet Office for there to be a Scottish version of their model services contract specifying Scots law as the governing law and Scotland as the seat of any arbitration.

The Cabinet Office has agreed to the Advocate General’s request that its major model services contract for services of £10m and over, should have a Scottish version, as suggested was made by members of the Co-ordination Group. The Group was established in 2013 to coordinate the promotion of the Scottish legal and dispute resolution services to an international market, following the launch of the UK Government's revised policy on promoting the UK legal services sector, and comprises legal profession, business and Government representatives.

Lord Keen commented: “I am pleased that the UK Government are able to take this step. It is leading by example in the hope industry will also consider using such contractual terms, resulting in the potential for more commercial disputes to be resolved in Scotland.”