Who we are
The Office of the Scottish Parliamentary Counsel (OSPC) is a team of 14 lawyers (known as Scottish parliamentary counsel) who specialise in legislative drafting. OSPC is based in Edinburgh and is headed up by First Scottish Parliamentary Counsel, Colin Wilson.
You can read an interview with Colin in the Journal of the Law Society of Scotland.
Our goal
OSPC's main aim is to draft Government Bills to be introduced in the Scottish Parliament in a way which ensures that the resultant Acts of the Scottish Parliament deliver Ministers' policy effectively in language that is easy to understand.
Objectives
- To work with the Scottish Ministers and policy and legal colleagues in the planning and management of the Scottish Government's legislative programme so as to ensure that the programme delivers those elements of the Government's Purpose that need to be implemented by primary legislation.
- To draft effective, clear, accessible Bills delivering the legislative programme; and in doing so to engage with Ministers, Bill teams and stakeholders so as to share and use OSPC's experience and expertise in the preparation and management of Bills.
- To contribute to the Scottish Law Commission's functions in relation to the reform and development of statute law by drafting Bills for annexation to Scottish Law Commission reports.
- To provide a drafting service to HMG in respect of the Scottish elements of Bills for the UK Parliament.
- To maintain and improve quality in the drafting process by seeking to ensure that the Scottish statute book develops in a coherent, clear and principled way and is accessible to end-users, all in support of the Lord Advocate's functions in relation to the statute book.
- To provide advice, guidance and support to the Scottish Ministers and policy and legal colleagues on constitutional, legal and parliamentary issues, particularly in relation to primary and secondary legislation.
- To maintain and develop good working relationships within and outwith Government with a view to identifying and developing innovative processes and practices that can be used to improve the quality and accessibility of primary legislation.
What we do
The Office:
- drafts all Bills that Ministers introduce in the Scottish Parliament in pursuance of their annual legislative programme - the Bills become law as Acts of the Scottish Parliament
- prepares Government amendments to Bills as they pass through the Parliament
- reviews subordinate legislation which amends primary legislation (and drafts some subordinate legislation when specially instructed)
- drafts Bills for the Scottish Law Commission
- advises Ministers on related legal and parliamentary issues
Some parliamentary counsel in OSPC are also responsible for drafting Scottish provisions for inclusion in UK Government Bills at Westminster.
How we work
Parliamentary counsel usually work in teams of two. Each team is responsible for a number of Bills. Counsel do not specialise in one particular area of law. Bills are allocated to drafting teams by First Scottish Parliamentary Counsel and may deal with any of the broad range of topics on which the Scottish Parliament has power to legislate.
OSPC's core work involves analysing and refining Ministers' legislative proposals and then finding the drafting solution that achieves the intended result as clearly and accurately as possible.
OSPC acts on instructions prepared by the Government's solicitors in collaboration with the Government directorate responsible for the legislation (with instructions for UK Government Bills being prepared by lawyers in the relevant UK department and instructions on Scottish Law Commission Bills coming direct from the Commission).
Legislative drafting is intellectually stimulating and, by turning policy into law, drafters in OSPC have the opportunity to contribute significantly to the delivery of Ministers' policy objectives. A legislative drafter's product by its nature will always attract attention in political circles and is frequently the subject of intense public interest and debate. And when enacted that product becomes, quite literally, the law of the land.
Plain Language
OSPC is committed to drafting legislation in plain language. The aim is to produce clear, precise and accessible law.
An OSPC booklet on plain language drafting is available on this website.
Careers
OSPC recruits directly, usually by way of open competition run by the Government. OSPC has recently recruited from a wide range of fields, in both the public and private sector, including from the legal profession, the academic sector, the Government Legal Service for Scotland and other government departments. Future vacancies will be advertised on the main Government website as well as in the national press.
Contact
Office of the Scottish Parliamentary Counsel
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
Telephone: 0131 244 0520
Email: ospc@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Useful Links
Scottish Parliament Bills - www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/bills
UK and Scottish Legislation (Office of Public Sector Information) - www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation
Office of the Queen's Printer for Scotland - www.oqps.gov.uk
Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel - www.opc.gov.au/calc