Commentary on Sections Code of practice Section 12: Approval of the code
25.Subsections (1) to (3) of section 12 of the Act set out the arrangements for the approval process for the code of practice once the Commissioner has finalised a draft code after undertaking the consultation process set out above. The Commissioner must submit a copy of the draft code to the Scottish Ministers for approval. Should the Scottish Ministers decide not to approve the draft code, they must provide their reasons to the Commissioner. Any modifications made to the draft code by Scottish Ministers require to be agreed with the Commissioner. By virtue of section 7(5), this approval process applies equally when revising the code of practice. Steps can then be taken under section 13 to bring the approved draft code into effect.