Disputes under the major UK Government services contract can now be resolved in Scotland

LONDON, 10-12-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — Disputes under the major UK Government services contract can now be resolved in Scotland, the Advocate General for Scotland Lord Keen of Elie QC announced today

ADVOCATE GENERAL AGREES DEAL WITH CABINET OFFICE AIMED AT SEEING THE RESOLUTION OF MORE CONTRACT DISPUTES IN SCOTLAND

Disputes under the major UK Government services contract can now be resolved in Scotland, the Advocate General for Scotland Lord Keen of Elie QC announced today. The Advocate General 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 now agreed to the Advocate General’s request that their major model services contract for services of £10 million and over, should have a Scottish version. This suggestion was made by members of the Scottish Legal Services Co-ordination Group. It means that those using the model can allow for Scots Law to be the governing law and Scotland to be the seat of any arbitration not London. Commenting, Lord Keen said “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”.

Further information:- The Scottish Legal Services Group brings together representatives of the UK and Scottish Governments, professional bodies, the alternative dispute resolution sector, business organisations and other agencies. It aims to provide a forum for information sharing and ideas and agreement on consistent messaging, with a view to a co-ordinated approach to the promotion of the profession internationally. The group includes representatives from: • The Faculty of Advocates • The Law Society of Scotland • The Office of the Advocate General (UK Government) • The Scottish Government Justice Directorate • The Scottish Arbitration Centre • Scottish Development International (SDI) • Scottish Enterprise • Scottish Financial Enterprise • VisitScotland The group also works closely with UK Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Justice.

SOURCE: GOV.UK