SCOPE OF PART II (Hansard, 6 May 1977)

§ The Lord Advocate
I beg to move amendment No. 20, in page 7, line 35, leave out paragraph (d).

§ Mr. Speaker
With this we may take Government Amendments Nos. 21, 22, 24, 25 and 26.

§ The Lord Advocate
This amendment and the others to be taken with it are essentially drafting amendments in the interests of logic and clarity. Their primary object is to take paragraph (d) out of subsection (1) of Clause 14 and to put it into subsection (2).
Subsection (1) delineates the general scope of Part II of the Bill. Subsection (2) is intended to qualify or restrict that generality in particular areas. As contracts covered by paragraphs (a), (b) and(c) in subsection (1) already include those mentioned in paragraph (d), and (d) is essentially qualifying the generality of subsection (1) in relation to marine contracts, it is proper that they should be listed in subsection (2). In the last two lines of the substituted paragraph the opportunity is taken to underwrite the consumer preference situation of consumer contracts.
The reason for the limited application of Clauses 15 to 17 to these maritime contracts is to safeguard existing arrangements in the commercial maritime field while ensuring that there is adequate protection for the consumer. I hope that the House will approve the amendments.

§ The Lord Advocate
I beg to move Amendment No. 23, in page 8, line 10, leave out paragraph (b).
Clause 14(2)(b) provides that the provisions of Clauses 15 to 17 would be excluded from contracts by statutory enactments only where the latter expressly regulate the terms of the contract. In this way the objects of Part II, which covers Scotland, are protected against unintentional statutory encroachments. In 832 Part III, which covers the United Kingdom, Clause 27(1) has a different wording but achieves the same result. Therefore, paragraph (b) generally is unnecessary. It is preferable to have the provision relating to statutory interpretation in the United Kingdom application part of the Bill where the same provisions can apply to United Kingdom statutes of Clause 14. I commend the amendment to the House.