Judicial Factors (Scotland) Bill

Closed 15 Mar 2024

Opened 20 Dec 2023

Contact

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

0131 348 5974

DPLR.Committee@parliament.scot

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

About the Bill

A judicial factor is an individual appointed by the Court to manage property of those who, for whatever reason, are unable or unwilling to do so.

A judicial factor may be appointed in circumstances such as:

  • Where a law firm has breached rules or regulations, or where a sole practitioner has died
  • To wind up the estate of a deceased person in limited circumstances
  • To oversee the estate of a missing person
  • Where a business owned by a partnership is not being run properly because the partners cannot agree on anything
  • Where the person responsible for the estate cannot practically carry out their duties

The Bill aims to modernise the law, making the role of the judicial factor clearer.

The Bill details:

  • How a judicial factor is appointed
  • The role and responsibilities of a judicial factor
  • The powers a judicial factor has to carry out these duties
  • When and how the appointment of a judicial factor should end
  • The role of the Accountant of Court in supervising judicial factors

Current Status of the Bill

This Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 5 December 2023.

Read and find out more about the Bill: Judicial Factors (Scotland) Bill.

Stage 1

The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee has been designated as the lead Committee for the Bill.

Financial Memorandum

As with all Bills, the Finance and Public Administration Committee invites written evidence on the estimated financial implications of the Bill as set out in its accompanying Financial Memorandum (FM).

Read the FM published alongside this Bill.

Making a Submission

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Please note that in most cases your submission will be published on the Scottish Parliament's website and may be quoted in the Committee's report or in Committee meetings (which are public and broadcast).

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language. Due to the time required to process and analyse evidence, late submissions will only be accepted with the agreement of the Committee Clerk.

Please use the Questionnaire provided for your submission.

The call for views closes on Friday 15 March 2024.

Interests

  • DPLR