Advocate General agrees deal to resolve 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 the establishment of 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.

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”.