Reconceptualising Scottish limited partnership law

Abstract

ABSTRACT Scottish limited partnerships (SLPs) have been the focus of much negative attention. Recent developments appear to have slowed the speed of incorporation of new SLPs. However, this article argues that current reforms may not help tackle existing fraudulent SLPs. This does not matter: viewing SLPs as general partnerships with some additional features, arguably fraudulent SLPs have ceased to exist, and offshored SLPs may have lost their separate legal personality. That this has been so far missed can be traced to current organisational theory. This article identifies the implications of reconceptualising the SLP for wider organisational theory and identifies options for state gift thinkers to reformulate their wider claims. Either the claim that separate legal personality derives from the state needs to be diluted to near tautology, or it needs to be limited in geographical extent.