News story

Copyright Tribunal - possible transfer to Scottish Tribunal

How the draft legislation which implements the Smith Commission's recommendations affects the Copyright Tribunal.

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In November 2014 the Smith Commission Agreement on Scottish devolution recommended the transfer of the Copyright Tribunal’s functions to a Scottish tribunal.

The UK Government published on 22 January 2015 a Command Paper “Scotland in the UK” (Chapter 6.3) and draft legislation (Annex A Section 25) implementing the Smith recommendation which will be subject to consultation.

There is no immediate impact on the Copyright Tribunal as the legislation will simply set the powers that could effect the transfer of the Copyright Tribunal functions to a Scottish tribunal.

The jurisdiction of the CDPA 1988 will not be altered by any transfer.

Published 23 January 2015