189.Under section 7 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020, the Scottish Ministers are required to establish and maintain a register of solicitors who may be appointed by a court under section 22B(6) of the 2004 Act. That provision comes into play where the court orders that the special measure of prohibiting a party to certain proceedings from conducting the case personally is to be taken. Where that special measure is to be taken, and the court is aware the party does not have a solicitor and is not satisfied that the party intends to appoint one, the court is under a duty to appoint a solicitor to represent that party.
190.Section 22B(7) provides that the solicitor appointed must be on the register established and maintained under section 7 of the 2020 Act.
191.Given the amendments made by sections 58 and 59, to the effect that the vulnerable witnesses special measures will apply and be available in all civil proceedings, and in particular, given that the special measure of prohibiting a party from personally conducting the case will now be available in all civil proceedings and not just those relating to children, section 60 moves the provision on the register of solicitors from the 2020 Act, which is generally about children only, into the 2004 Act. It does this by repealing section 7 and re-enacting it as new section 22E in the 2004 Act. The substantive content of the section is substantially the same, subject to the following changes:
	new section 22E(2)(b) and (4) clarify that the register of solicitors may be divided into parts that apply in relation to different categories of civil proceedings,
	new section 22E(2)(a)(iii) requires that the regulations establishing the register must make provision for the remuneration of solicitors appointed from the register – previously inclusion of provision on this point was discretionary, and
	new section 22E(4) sets out requirements for the report on the consultation which the Scottish Ministers are obliged to carry out prior to making regulations.
Crown Application Vulnerable witnesses Section 60 – register of solicitors for section 22B of the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004