An order requiring fatal accident inquiries are held into military deaths in Scotland will not apply to Lance Corporal Joe Spencer, who was killed in a training exercise.
Scotland minister Lord Dunlop told peers at Westminster that the law change, making an investigation mandatory into service fatalities north of the border, was not retrospective.
As a result, in the case of L/Cpl Spencer, who died at RAF Tain in the Scottish Highlands on November 1, the existing arrangements would apply, where a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) would be held at the discretion of Scotland's chief legal officer, the Lord Advocate.
Read more: Soldier killed at RAF Tain weapons range died in 'live fire accident'
According to the Ministry of Defence, the 24-year-old, of 3rd Battalion The Rifles, died in a "live fire accident".
L/Cpl Spencer, from Hampshire, joined the Army in 2011 and had completed a tour of Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick 16.
Lord Dunlop said the order relating to inquiries into fatal accidents and sudden deaths, would bring Scotland into line with the rest of the UK.
It will also mean mandatory inquiries are held into the deaths of children in secure accommodation and deaths in police custody.
The minister said the proposed changes had "taken on added significance" in recent days following the death of L/Cpl Spencer and offered his condolences to the serviceman's family, friends and colleagues.
Read more: Soldier killed at RAF Tain weapons range died in 'live fire accident'
Lord Dunlop said: "In legal terms the mandatory requirement for a fatal accident inquiry proposed in this order is not retrospective.
"So even if the death is found to be in the circumstances provided for, it will not apply to the death of L/Cpl Spencer."
Instead the existing arrangements would apply and fall within the discretion of the Lord Advocate to rule on whether an FAI is held.
He added: "This sad incident does nonetheless highlight the importance of the order and illustrates why the UK and Scottish Governments, ministers and officials have worked closely together to bring it about."
Read more: Soldier killed at RAF Tain weapons range died in 'live fire accident'
Independent crossbencher Lord Hope of Craighead said the changes made sense as there had previously been an "imbalance" between the mandatory system in England and Wales and the discretionary system in Scotland.
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Wallace of Tankerness also welcomed the move to extend the categories where a mandatory fatal accident inquiry would be carried out.
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