Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980

65 Interpretation.S

(1)In this Act, except in so far as the context otherwise requires—

• “accounts rules” has the meaning given by section 35;

• “accountant’s certificate rules” has the meaning given by section 37(3);

• “advocate” means a member of the Faculty of Advocates;

• [F1“building society” means a building society within the meaning of the M1Building Societies Act 1986;]

• “client account” means a current or deposit or savings account [F2at a bank or with a building society], or a deposit receipt, at a bank, being an account or, as the case may be, a deposit receipt in the title of which the word “client”, “trustee”, “trust” or other fiduciary term appears, including—

  (a)

  an account or deposit receipt for a client whose name is specified in the title of the account on deposit receipt, and

  (b)

  an account such as is mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 35(1);

• “the Council” has the meaning given by section 3;

• “the Court” means the Court of Session;

• [F3“the Director” means the Director General of Fair Trading;

• “foreign lawyer” means a person who is not a solicitor or an advocate but who is a member, and entitled to practise as such, of a legal profession regulated within a jurisdiction outwith Scotland;]

• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F4

• “functions” includes powers and duties;

• [F5“inadequate professional services” means professional services which are in any respect not of the quality which could reasonably be expected of a competent solicitor, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly; and references to the provision of inadequate professional services shall be construed as including references to not providing professional services which such a solicitor ought to have provided;]

• [F6“incorporated practice” has the meaning given by section 34(1A)(c);]

• “judge” includes sheriff;

• [F7“law centre” means a body—

(a)established for the purpose of providing legal services to the public generally as well as to individual members of the public; and

(b)which does not distribute any profits made either to its members or otherwise, but reinvests any such profits for the purposes of the law centre;]

• F8 . . .

• “Lord President” means the Lord President of the Court of Session;

• [F9“multi-disciplinary practice” means a body corporate or a partnership—

(a)having as one of its directors or, as the case may be, partners, a solicitor or an incorporated practice; and

(b)which offers services, including professional services such as are provided by individual solicitors, to the public; and

(c)where that solicitor or incorporated practice carries out, or supervises the carrying out of, any such professional services as may lawfully be carried out only by a solicitor;

• “multi-national practice” means—

(a)a partnership whose members are solicitors or incorporated practices and registered foreign lawyers; or

(b)a body corporate whose members include registered foreign lawyers, and membership of which is restricted to solicitors, incorporated practices, registered foreign lawyers and other multi-national practices;]

• [F10“the 1990 Act” means the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 (c. 40);]

• “notary public” means a notary public duly admitted in Scotland;

• “practice year” means the year ending on 31st October;

• “practising certificate” has the meaning given by section 4;

• “property” includes property, whether heritable or moveable, and rights and interests in, to or over such property;

(2)Unless the context otherwise requires a reference—

(a)in any enactment to law agents includes solicitors [F15and registered European lawyers];

(b)in any enactment to the register of law agents kept in pursuance of the M2Law Agents (Scotland) Act 1873 includes the roll;

(c)in any enactment or instrument to the Solicitors Discipline (Scotland) Committee shall be construed as a reference to the Tribunal;

(d)in any enactment or instrument or other document to the General Council of Solicitors in Scotland shall be construed as a reference to the Council;

(e)in any enactment to a solicitor’s [F16or registered European lawyer’s] being entitled to practise in the Court, or in any other court, or to act in any matter, by reason of his being enrolled in, or of his having subscribed, the list of solicitors practising in that court, shall be construed as a reference to his being entitled so to practise or act be reason of his name being included in the appropriate list provided under section 20.

(3)In this Act references to any enactment shall, except in so far as the context otherwise requires, be construed as references to that enactment as amended, extended or applied by or under any other enactment, including any enactment contained in this Act.

(4)In this Act, except in so far as the context otherwise requires,—

(a)any reference to a numbered Part, section or Schedule is a reference to the Part or Section of, or the Schedule to, this Act so numbered;

(b)a reference in a section to a numbered subsection is a reference to the subsection of that section so numbered;

(c)a reference in a section, subsection or Schedule to a numbered or lettered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that section, subsection or Schedule so numbered or lettered; and

(d)a reference to any provision of an Act (including this Act) includes a reference to any Schedule incorporated in the Act by that provision.