Draft legislation which aims to correct a legal issue in land tenancy law has been published.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 had to be amended as one sub-section breached the rights of landlords under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The subsection involved situations where dissolution notices were served on limited partnership arrangements from 16 September 2002 to 30 June 2003, and the Act contained provisions for full 1991 agricultural tenancy under certain circumstances.


The legislation which has now been published, is a proposed draft Convention Compliance Order and is subject to 60 days of public consultation.

Commenting on the publication, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment Richard Lochhead said: "This is an important step towards resolving legal uncertainty that has been hanging over a part of the tenant farming sector for some time and I am grateful to stakeholder organisations for their constructive engagement over the past few months in the preparation of this draft Order.

"The Order provides for individual tenancy arrangements to be amended and according to our research, the number of cases is thankfully much smaller than had previously been thought.

"In order to help reach fair and balanced outcomes, the Scottish Government will offer independent mediation to the small number of landlords and tenants affected.

"I look forward to the responses to this consultation so that we can complete the legislative process."

(JP/CD)