A review into the commercial functions of the Scottish legal system has said that it could be developed to turn the nation into an international centre for dispute resolution.

In February Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill set up a forum of legal and business experts to investigate how Scotland's legal and professional service industries could be developed.

The group has concluded that with work Scotland's dispute resolution services could be successfully marketed overseas, although at present the majority of business is domestic. It also called for more integrated promotion of legal services as part of the wider package of professional services that are available.

"The Scottish Government is determined that our law firms should be able to compete internationally and that our legal system should be more attractive to major businesses," said Minister for Community Safety Fergus Ewing.

"I welcome their recognition that Scotland can play a leading role as a centre for dispute resolution and our legal services should be included in any marketing of Scotland and its businesses.

"I will now consider the forum's report in detail as we take forward our plans to reform the legal profession and develop our Arbitration Bill," he added.

The bill was first announced in September this year, and is set to be introduced early in 2009.