Procurators (Scotland) Act 1865
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1865 c. 85 |
| Year | 1865 |
(28 & 29 Vict.) C A P. LXXXV.
[5th July 1865]
'WHEREAS the Number of Procurators practising before the Inferior Courts inScotland has of late Years greatly increased, and the Interests entrusted to the Care of such Procurators have risen in Importance: And whereas it is desirable to improve the Qualifications and Standing of the Members of that Branch of the legal Profession, and to regulate the Mode of admitting them to Practice, and to confer corporate Powers on certain Faculties and Societies:' Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, as follows:
1 Interpretation of Terms.
1. The following Words and Expressions when used in this Act shall have the Meanings hereby assigned to them, unless there be something in the Subject or Context inconsistent with or repugnant to such Construction; that is to say,
‘Inferior Court’ shall embrace Sheriff Courts, Commissary Courts, Burgh Courts, Admiralty Courts, Dean of Guild Courts, Justice of Peace Courts, and all other Courts of Law having only local Jurisdiction inScotland :
‘Procurators’ shall include all Persons who have already been admitted as Procurators in any Sheriff Court inScotland , or as Members of the Incorporated Society of Writers in Dundee , or who shall hereafter be admitted as Procurators under this Act:
‘Sheriff’ shall include Steward, but not Sheriff Substitute or Steward Substitute:
‘Sheriff Clerk’ shall mean Sheriff Clerk Depute as well as Sheriff Clerk, and shall include Steward Clerk and Steward Clerk Depute:
‘County’ shall include Stewartry.
2 Who to act as Procurators.
2. No Person shall hereafter act or practise as a Procurator before any Inferior Court, or assume the Name or Title of Procurator, unless prior to the passing of this Act he shall have been duly admitted a Procurator, or unless subsequently to the passing of this Act he shall be admitted a Procurator pursuant to the Directions and Regulations of this Act.
3 Commissioners of Stamps not to issue Certificates except to qualified Persons.
3. From and after the passing of this Act, the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes and their Officers shall, previous to issuing any stamped Certificate to any Person applying for the same who has not previously had issued to him a like Certificate, require Evidence that such Person is either a Writer to the Signet, or a Solicitor before the Supreme Courts, or a Notary Public, or that he has been admitted a Procurator.
4 Requisites to entitle Persons to be admitted.
4. No Person shall hereafter be deemed admissible as a Procurator unless he shall be of the full Age of Twenty-one Years, and shall have been bound under an Indenture in Writing to serve, except as herein-after provided, at least Four Years as an Apprentice to a Master declared by this Act to be competent, and shall have duly served his said Apprenticeship by personal Attendance in the Office of such Master or in the Office of some other Master to whom his Indenture may have been transferred, as herein-after provided, and unless he shall have been reported qualified for Admission after an Entrance Examination in manner herein-after specified: Provided always, that any Person who may before the passing of this Act have served, or may be at the Date thereof in course of serving, an Apprenticeship for a shorter Term than Four Years, in such Form as would have qualified him for Admission under the Provisions of the Act of Sederunt of the Lords of Council and Session, dated Tenth Day ofJuly One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, Chapter Five, shall be deemed admissible, in so far as regards Apprenticeship, if he have served or shall serve, either as an Apprentice or Clerk to the same or some other competent Master, such further Term as may be sufficient along with his previous Service to complete the full Term of Four Years, and if he shall have been reported qualified as aforesaid, and such Service may be instructed by a Certificate under the Hand of such Master, or otherwise, as herein-after provided.
5 Requisites restricted in certain Cases.
5. Provided also, That any Person who shall have taken a Degree in Arts in any One of the Universities ofGreat Britain or Ireland , or who shall be a Member of any of the Councils of the Scottish Universities, shall be deemed admissible as a Procurator, in so far as regards Apprenticeship, if he shall have served an Apprenticeship, under Indenture as aforesaid for the shorter Period of Three Years, and such Person shall not be obliged as a Part of his Entrance Examination to undergo an Examination in general Knowledge.
6 Who shall be deemed a competent Master.
6. In reference to all Apprenticeships and Clerkships to be entered into in Terms of this Act, any Writer to the Signet or Solicitor before the Supreme Courts, or Procurator or Sheriff Clerk, shall be deemed a competent Master in the Case of a Person seeking to qualify himself as a Procurator.
7 Provision in case Master of Persons entering into Apprenticeship. &c. dies.
7. In case any Master with whom any Person shall have entered into any Apprenticeship or Clerkship as aforesaid shall, during the Currency of the Term of such Apprenticeship or Clerkship, die or become bankrupt, or cease to practise, or be unable to continue to employ such Apprentice or Clerk, it shall be lawful for the Sheriff of the County or Sheriff Substitute of the County, Ward, District, or Division in which such Apprenticeship or Clerkship is being served, upon the Application of such Apprentice or Clerk, as the Case may be, to direct the Indenture or Agreement of Clerkship to be discharged, or to authorize the Term of Service to be completed with any other Master declared competent by this Act and named in such Application, without Prejudice to the voluntary Transfer of any Apprenticeship or Clerkship to a competent Master mutually agreed upon, and made in Writing.
8 One Year of Indenture under Procurator may be commuted into Clerkship.
8. Any Apprentice who, either before or after the passing of this Act, has entered into an Indenture for any Period exceeding Three Years, and who may be desirous of making himself acquainted with the Forms of Procedure in the Supreme Courts, or with the Mode of conducting Business in any County other than that in which he has bound himself to serve, may, in lieu of the last Year of his said Apprenticeship, with the Consent of his Master, substitute a Term of Service as Clerk for not less than One Year with a Writer to the Signet or Solicitor before the Supreme Courts, or with a Procurator practising in such other County, which Service as Clerk shall be equally effectual for the Purpose of Admission as if such Apprentice had completed the full Term of his Apprenticeship.
9 Indentures to be recorded and Service to be certified.
9. All Indentures which shall after the passing of this Act be entered into with the Intention of qualifying the Apprentice for Admission in Terms of this Act shall be recorded in the Register of Probative Writs of the County where the same shall have been entered into, within Six Months from the Date fixed therein for the Commencement of the Term of Apprenticeship, and upon the Expiration thereof such Indenture, with a Certificate endorsed thereon, under the Hand of the Master with whom such Apprenticeship was completed, setting forth that the Party has actually andbon fide served the Apprenticeship set forth in the Application for Admission as required by this Act, may be received as Evidence of such Apprenticeship having been duly served.
10 Agreements to serve as Clerk must be in Writing and proved.
10. No Service as Clerk, in Terms and for the Purposes of this Act, entered into after the passing thereof, shall be held a Qualification for Admission as aforesaid, unless the Agreement to serve as Clerk for a specified Time shall be entered into in Writing...
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