Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1985
Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
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The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1985 (1985 c. 73) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that amended the law of Scotland in respect of leases, contracts and obligations, courts and their powers, evidence and procedure, criminal penalties, the care of children, the functions of the Commissioner for Local Administration, solicitors, and crofting and the valuation of sheep stocks.[1]
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to amend the law of Scotland in respect of certain leases, other contracts and obligations; certain courts and their powers; evidence and procedure; certain criminal penalties; the care of children; the functions of the Commissioner for Local Administration; solicitors; and certain procedures relating to crofting and the valuation of sheep stocks; and to make, as respects Scotland, certain other miscellaneous reforms of the law. |
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| Citation | 1985 c. 73 |
| Territorial extent | Scotland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 30 October 1985 |
| Commencement | |
| Other legislation | |
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| Amended by |
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Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
| Text of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1985 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
Provisions
The act is divided into nine substantive parts. The first part amended the law of Scotland relating to leases, including provisions on the operation of irritancy clauses. The second part dealt with other contracts and obligations, including a power for the court to order rectification of a defectively expressed document (section 8), amendments to the law of prescription, and amendments to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 as it applies in Scotland. The third part made various amendments to the law governing courts and their powers, including provisions relating to the jurisdiction of sheriff courts. The fourth part reformed aspects of the law of evidence and procedure in Scottish civil and criminal proceedings. The fifth part amended provisions relating to certain criminal penalties, including fixed penalties for road traffic offences. The sixth part made provision relating to the care of children in Scotland. The seventh part amended the functions of the Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland. The eighth part amended various provisions relating to solicitors in Scotland, supplemented by schedule 1, which made further amendments to the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980. The ninth part made provision relating to certain procedures in connection with crofting and the valuation of sheep stocks.[2]
Schedule 2 to the act made further amendments to a number of enactments, including the Jurors (Scotland) Act 1825, the Juries (Scotland) Act 1826, the Titles to Land Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1868, the Conveyancing (Scotland) Act 1924, the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970, the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971, the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975, the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979, and the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980.[2]
Repealed enactments
Section 59(2) of the act repealed 15 enactments, listed in schedule 4 to the act.[2]
| Citation | Short title | Extent of repeal |
|---|---|---|
| 1825 c. 22 | Jurors (Scotland) Act 1825 | Sections 11 and 14. |
| 1830 c. 37 | Criminal Law (Scotland) Act 1830 | In section 10, the words from "Provided also" to the end of the section. |
| 1867 c. 17 | Lyon King of Arms Act 1867 | Section 11. |
| 1920 c. 53 | Jurors (Enrolment of Women) (Scotland) Act 1920 | The whole act. |
| 1947 c. 44 | Crown Proceedings Act 1947 | In section 46, paragraph (c) of the proviso and the word "or" which precedes it. |
| 1949 c. 63 | Legal Aid and Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1949 | Section 25. |
| 1952 c. 61 | Prisons (Scotland) Act 1952 | Section 7(2). |
| Section 18(4) and (5). | ||
| Section 35(5)(6). | ||
| 1965 c. 22 | Law Commissions Act 1965 | Section 2(5). |
| 1971 c. 10 | Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 | In subsection 9(5) (as it applies to Scotland) the words "convicted on indictment of, or is", the words "Part I or", and the words from "the conviction on" to "as the case may be,". |
| 1971 c. 58 | Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971 | In section 6, in subsection (1) paragraph (6) and the word "or" which precedes it. |
| In section 33(4), the words "whole-time sheriff clerk as". | ||
| 1975 c. 20 | District Courts (Scotland) Act 1975 | Section 19. |
| 1975 c. 21 | Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 | In section 448(2C)(6), the words "to the draft case". |
| 1976 c. 32 | Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 | In Schedule 3, paragraph 14. |
| 1980 c. 45 | Water (Scotland) Act 1980 | Section 96. |
| 1980 c. 46 | Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 | In section 6(1)(b), the words "by affidavit or otherwise". |
| Section 15(2)(a). | ||
| In section 35(1), the word "and" immediately preceding paragraph (d). | ||
| In Schedule 1, in paragraph 7 the word "annual" in both places where it occurs. | ||
| In Schedule 3, in paragraph 1(1), the words "not exceeding the sum of £25" and paragraph 1(7). |
Subsequent developments
Various provisions of the act have been amended or repealed by subsequent legislation. Sections 21, 36, 37, 40, 43, 45, and paragraphs 16 to 20 and 23 of schedule 2 were repealed by section 6 of, and schedule 5 to, the Criminal Procedure (Consequential Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1995, which came into force on 1 April 1996. Sections 14 and 22 were repealed by schedule 5 to the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. Sections 17, 18, and 20, and paragraph 12 of schedule 2, were repealed by schedule 1 to the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (Relevant Officer and Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 (SSI 2016/387). Provisions relating to the Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland were repealed in part by the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman and Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland Act 1997 and subsequently by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002. Provisions relating to charities were repealed by the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and provisions relating to licensing by the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.
Sections 8 and 9 of the act, which concern rectification of defectively expressed documents and personal bar, were amended by schedule 5 to the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012. Section 10 of the act, which applied certain unfair contract terms provisions to Scotland, was amended by the Trade Marks Act 1994, the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/870) and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/381).