s 23D Legal advisers
(1) The Council shall appoint persons to be legal advisers. (2) The legal advisers are appointed for the purpose of giving advice to— (a) the Fitness to Practise Committee; and (b) the Registration Appeals Committee, on questions of law arising in connection with any matter which the Committee is considering. (3) To be qualified for appointment as a legal adviser, a person must— (a) have at least a five year general qualification (within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990); (b) be an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least five years standing; or (c) be a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland or solicitor of the Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland of at least five years standing. (4) A legal adviser must not be a member of the Council . (5) The Council may pay such fees, allowances and expenses to a legal adviser as the Council consider appropriate. (6) Legal advisers appointed under this section may be appointed either generally or for any particular class of proceedings, and shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the terms of the instrument under which they are appointed. (7) The Council may make rules as to the functions of legal advisers appointed under this section and those rules may in particular contain provision— (a) for legal advisers to advise on the drafting of decisions; (b) for securing that where the adviser advises a Committee on any question of law as to evidence, procedure or any other matters set out in the rules, he shall do so in the presence of every party, or person representing a party, to the proceedings who appears at the proceedings, or, if the advice is tendered after the Committee have begun to deliberate as to their findings, that every such party or person shall be informed as to the advice tendered by the legal adviser; and (c) for incidental and supplementary matters.