Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980

Contributions by SolicitorsS

1(1)Subject to the provisions of this Act, there shall be paid to the Society on behalf of the Guarantee Fund by every solicitor in respect of each year during which, or part of which, he is in practice as a solicitor, along with his application for a practising certificate, a contribution (hereafter referred to as an “annual contribution”). . . F1S

(2)The sum payable by a solicitor in respect of the year in which he first commences to practise after admission and in respect of each of the 2 years immediately following shall be one half of the annual contribution.

[F2(2A)Sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) do not apply to solicitors who are directors of incorporated practices.

(2B)Subject to the provisions of this Act, there shall be paid to the Society on behalf of the Guarantee Fund by every incorporated practice in respect of each year during which, or part of which, it is recognised under section 34(1A) a contribution (hereafter referred to as an “annual corporate contribution”) in accordance with the scale of such contributions refered to in sub-paragraph (3).]

(3)The Council shall not later than [F330 September] in each year fix the amount, if any, of the annual contribution to be paid in respect of the following year [F4and the scale of the annual corporate contributions to be so paid, which scale shall be fixed by reference to factors which shall include the number of solicitors who are directors or employees of each of the incorporated practices to which the scale relates.]

(4)No annual contribution shall be payable by a solicitor [F4and no annual corporate contribution by an incorporated practice] so long as the amount of the Guarantee Fund including the value of all investments forming part of the Fund and after providing for all outstanding liabilities, is in the opinion of the Council not less than £250,000 or such other sum as the Council may from time to time determine.

(5)If at any time the Council are of the opinion that the liabilities of the Guarantee Fund render it expedient in order to secure the financial stability of the Fund, the Council may, by resolution of which not less than 10 days’ previous notice in writing has been given to each member of the Council impose upon every solicitor a contribution (hereafter referred to as a “special contribution”) of the amount specified in the resolution, and [F5upon every incorporated practice a contribution (hereafter referred to as a “special corporate contribution”) in accordance with a scale of such contributions fixed by the Council as under sub-paragraph (3), and a special or special corporate] contribution shall be payable to the Society in one sum or, if the Council so determine, by instalments on or before such date or dates as may be specified in the resolution.

(6)No special contribution shall be payable by a solicitor in the year in which he first commences to practise after admission nor in either of the 2 years immediately following.

(7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F6

(8)No annual contribution and no special contribution shall be payable by any solicitor who is in the employment of another solicitor or of a firm of solicitors [F4or of an incorporated practice] and who does not engage in practice as a solicitor on his own account.

(9)Without prejudice to any other method of recovering contributions payable to the Society under this Schedule whether annual or special a practising certificate shall not be issued to a solicitor except on production of evidence of payment of the contributions (if any) due by him to the Fund on or before the issue of the certificate.

(10)In this schedule the expression “year” means the period of 12 months commencing on 1 November or such other day as may be fixed by the Council.