Legal Services Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 108D: 108D: Clause 81 , page 47, line 25, at end insert— ““( ) a provision requiring a body licensed by a licensing authority to comply with the law, professional rules and statutory and non-statutory provisions applicable in any jurisdiction outside England and Wales where the body may intend to conduct business,”” The noble Lord said: Although Part 5 applies to England and Wales only, there will be an impact on Scotland arising from the creation of alternative business structures. I am therefore obliged to the Law Society of Scotland for having assisted me in drafting a series of amendments which are designed to probe the extent to which alternative business structures will comply with the law of the jurisdiction within which they operate. A later amendment provides for a monitoring and research programme. This is a probing amendment, designed to explore the extent to which licensed bodies will be obliged to comply with the law, the professional rules and the statutory and non-statutory provisions that apply outside England and Wales. There are many provisions, whether in statute or common law, that could apply to licensed bodies if they conduct business outside England and Wales. I hope that this provision will highlight the bodies’ obligations under the law as it applies in other jurisdictions. I beg to move.