The Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Act 2026 (Commencement No. 1 and Saving Provision) Regulations 2026

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

The Bill for the Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Act 2026 (“ the Act ”) received Royal Assent on 12 May 2026. Sections 16, 21, 22, 24 and 25 of the Act came into force on the following day. These Regulations commence sections 1, 2(3), 4(3), 5, 14, 15, and 17 in Part 1 of the Act, sections 19 and 20 in Part 2 of the Act, section 23 in Part 3 of the Act and schedules 1 and 2 of the Act on 22 July 2026.

Section 19 of the Act amends the Certification of Death (Scotland) Act 2011 (“ the 2011 Act ”) to make certain death certificates eligible for review by a medical reviewer. The amendments made by section 19(2)(a) expand a medical reviewer’s discretion to reject applications for review. Regulation 3 provides that the amendments made by section 19(2)(a) do not apply to an application for review under section 4(1) of the 2011 Act which has been made before 22 July 2026.