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Presiding Officer and administration |
| Presiding Officer. |
18. - (1) The Parliament shall, at its first meeting following a general election, elect from among its members a Presiding Officer and two deputies.
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(2) A person elected Presiding Officer or deputy shall hold office until the conclusion of the next election for Presiding Officer under subsection (1), unless he previously resigns, ceases to be a member of the Parliament otherwise than by virtue of a dissolution or is removed from office by resolution of the Parliament.
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(3) If the Presiding Officer or a deputy ceases to hold office before the Parliament is dissolved, the Parliament shall elect another from among its members to fill his place.
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(4) Standing orders shall include provision for the exercise of the Presiding Officer's functions by a member of the Parliament if the office of Presiding Officer is vacant or the Presiding Officer is for any reason unable to act.
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(5) The Presiding Officer may (subject to standing orders) authorise any deputy to exercise functions on his behalf.
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(6) Standing orders may include provision as to the participation (including voting) of the Presiding Officer and deputies in the proceedings of the Parliament.
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| Clerk of the Parliament. |
19. - (1) There shall be a Clerk of the Parliament.
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(2) The Clerk shall be appointed by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (established under section 20).
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(3) The Clerk's functions may be exercised by any Assistant Clerk if the office of Clerk is vacant or the Clerk is for any reason unable to act.
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(4) The Clerk may authorise any Assistant Clerk or other member of the staff of the Parliament to exercise functions on his behalf.
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| Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. |
20. - (1) There shall be a body corporate to be known as "The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body" (referred to in this Act as the Parliamentary corporation) to perform the statutory functions conferred on the corporation and any functions conferred on the corporation by resolution of the Parliament.
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(2) The members of the corporation shall be-
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(a) the Presiding Officer, and |
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(b) four members of the Parliament appointed in accordance with standing orders. |
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(3) The corporation shall provide the Parliament, or ensure that the Parliament is provided, with the property, staff and services required for the Parliament's purposes.
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(4) The Parliament may give special or general directions to the corporation for the purpose of or in connection with the exercise of the corporation's functions.
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(5) Proceedings by or against the Parliament shall be instituted by or (as the case may be) against the corporation on behalf of the Parliament.
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(6) Any property or liabilities acquired or incurred in relation to matters within the general responsibility of the corporation to which (apart from this subsection) the Parliament would be entitled or subject shall be treated for all purposes as property or (as the case may be) liabilities of the corporation.
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(7) Any expenses of the corporation shall be payable out of the Scottish Consolidated Fund.
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(8) Any sums received by the corporation shall be paid into that Fund, subject to any provision made by virtue of an Act of the Scottish Parliament for the disposal of or accounting for such sums.
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(9) Schedule 2 (which makes further provision about the corporation) shall have effect.
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Proceedings etc. |
| Standing orders. |
21. - (1) The proceedings of the Parliament shall be regulated by standing orders.
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(2) Schedule 3 (which makes provision as to how certain matters are to be dealt with by standing orders) shall have effect.
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| Members' interests. |
22. - (1) Standing orders shall include provision for a register of interests of members of the Parliament, and for-
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(a) registrable interests (as defined in the standing orders) to be registered in it, and |
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(b) the register to be published and made available for public inspection. |
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(2) Standing orders shall include provision requiring that any member of the Parliament who has-
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(a) a financial interest (as defined in the standing orders) in any matter, or |
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(b) any other interest, or an interest of any other kind, specified in the standing orders in any matter, |
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declares that interest before taking part in any proceedings of the Parliament relating to that matter.
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(3) Standing orders made in pursuance of subsection (1) or (2) may include provision for preventing or restricting the participation in proceedings of the Parliament of a member with a registrable interest, or an interest mentioned in subsection (2), in a matter to which the proceedings relate.
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(4) Standing orders shall include provision prohibiting a member of the Parliament from-
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(a) advocating or initiating any cause or matter on behalf of any person, by any means specified in the standing orders, in consideration of any payment or benefit in kind of a description so specified, or |
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(b) urging, in consideration of any such payment or benefit in kind, any other member of the Parliament to advocate or initiate any cause or matter on behalf of any person by any such means. |
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(5) Standing orders may include provision for excluding from proceedings of the Parliament any member who fails to comply with, or contravenes, any provision made in pursuance of subsections (1) to (4).
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(6) Any member of the Parliament who-
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(a) takes part in any proceedings of the Parliament without having complied with, or in contravention of, any provision made in pursuance of subsections (1) to (3), or |
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(b) contravenes any provision made in pursuance of subsection (4), |
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is guilty of an offence.
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(7) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (6) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
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(8) In this section, references to members of the Parliament include references to the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland, whether or not they are such members.
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| Power to call for witnesses and documents. |
23. - (1) The Parliament may require any person-
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(a) to attend its proceedings for the purpose of giving evidence, or |
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(b) to produce documents in his custody or under his control, |
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relating to any of the matters mentioned in subsection (2).
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(2) Those matters are-
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(a) devolved matters concerning Scotland, |
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(b) matters in relation to which statutory functions are exercisable by the Scottish Ministers. |
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(3) The power in subsection (1) is not exercisable in relation to-
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(a) a person outside Scotland, |
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(b) a Minister of the Crown, or |
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(c) a person in Crown employment, within the meaning of section 191(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, |
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unless he discharges functions relating to matters within subsection (2).
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(4) That power is not exercisable in relation to-
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(a) a person discharging functions of any body whose functions relate only to reserved matters, or |
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(b) a judge of any court or a member of any tribunal which exercises the judicial power of the State. |
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(5) That power may be exercised by a committee or sub-committee of the Parliament only if the committee or sub-committee is expressly authorised to do so (whether by standing orders or otherwise).
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(6) The Clerk shall give the person in question notice in writing specifying-
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(a) the time and place at which the person is to attend and the particular matters relating to which he is required to give evidence, or |
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(b) the documents, or types of documents, which he is to produce, the date by which he is to produce them and the particular matters to which they are to relate. |
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(7) Such notice shall be given-
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(a) in the case of an individual, by sending it, by registered post or the recorded delivery service, addressed to him at his usual or last known address or, where he has given an address for service, at that address, |
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(b) in any other case, by sending it, by registered post or the recorded delivery service, addressed to the person at the person's registered or principal office. |
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(8) A person is not obliged under this section to answer any question or produce any document which he would be entitled to refuse to answer or produce in proceedings in a court in Scotland.
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| Witnesses and documents: offences. |
24. - (1) Any person to whom a notice under section 23(6) has been given who-
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(a) refuses, or fails without reasonable excuse, to attend proceedings as required by the notice, |
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(b) refuses, when attending proceedings as required by the notice, to answer any question relating to the matters specified in the notice, |
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(c) deliberately alters, suppresses, conceals or destroys any document which he is required to produce by the notice, or |
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(d) refuses, or fails without reasonable excuse, to produce any such document, |
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is guilty of an offence.
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(2) Subsection (1) is subject to sections 23(8) and 26(3).
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(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months.
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(4) Where an offence under this section which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of-
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(a) a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or |
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(b) any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, |
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he, as well as the body corporate, is guilty of that offence and liable to be proceeded against accordingly.
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| Witnesses and documents: general. |
25. - (1) The Presiding Officer or such other person as may be authorised by standing orders may-
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(a) administer an oath to any person giving evidence in proceedings of the Parliament, and |
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(b) require him to take the oath. |
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(2) Any person who refuses to take an oath when required to do so under subsection (1)(b) is guilty of an offence.
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(3) Subsection (3) of section 24 applies to an offence under subsection (2) as it applies to an offence under that section.
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(4) Standing orders may provide for the payment of allowances and expenses to persons-
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(a) attending proceedings of the Parliament to give evidence, or |
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(b) producing documents which they have been required or requested to produce, |
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whether or not in pursuance of a notice under section 23(6).
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(5) For the purposes of sections 23 and 24 and this section, a person shall be taken to comply with a requirement to produce a document if he produces a copy of, or an extract of the relevant part of, the document.
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| Participation of the Scottish Law Officers. |
26. - (1) If the Lord Advocate or the Solicitor General for Scotland is not a member of the Parliament-
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(a) he may participate in the proceedings of the Parliament to the extent permitted by standing orders, but may not vote, and |
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(b) standing orders may in other respects provide that they are to apply to him as if he were such a member. |
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(2) Subsection (1) is without prejudice to section 22.
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(3) The Lord Advocate or the Solicitor General for Scotland may, in any proceedings of the Parliament, decline to answer any question or produce any document relating to the operation of the system of criminal prosecution in any particular case if he considers that answering the question or producing the document-
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(a) might prejudice criminal proceedings in that case, or |
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(b) would otherwise be contrary to the public interest. |
