PLT QUESTIONS THE USE OF CLRING AN ACFT FOR AN ILS APCH WITH THE STIPULATION TO ALSO MAINTAIN VISUAL SEPARATION WITH ANOTHER ACFT WHEN THE WX IS BELOW VFR MINIMUMS.

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ARRIVING TO LAX FROM N; ON 070 DEG HDG; E OF SANTA MONICA VOR. ARPT ATIS CALLING FOR ILS RWY 24R AND RWY 25L IN USE; 2 MI VISIBILITY WITH HAZE. ON DOWNWIND; APCH CTL CALLED OUT AN ACR SMT Y AT OUR 3 O'CLOCK POS; AND ON FINAL TO LAX. WE CALLED THE ACFT IN SIGHT. WE WERE TURNED ON A BASE HDG; WITH THE SMT AHEAD OF US. WE WERE SETTING UP FOR THE ILS RWY 24R. ON OUR FINAL INTERCEPT HDG; AND CLRNC FOR APCH; I WAS CONFUSED AS TO EXACTLY WHERE THE SMT WAS GOING. HE WAS IN FRONT OF US; AND LINED UP WITH THE N COMPLEX. AFTER INQUIRING; LAX APCH ADVISED THAT THE SMT WAS GOING TO RWY 24L; AND WE WERE CLRED TO RWY 24R; BOTH ON ILS APCHS. THE ILS RWY 24L APCH IS A NEW APCH. AT ABOUT 1 1/2 MI SAW THE RWY; AND SAW THAT THE SMT IN FACT HAD SHOT THE RWY 24L APCH. WE LANDED ON RWY 24R. IN SUMMARY: IN ALL THE APCHS THAT I HAVE DONE AT LAX; DURING IFR CONDITIONS; THE OUTBOARD RWYS 24R AND 25L ARE USUALLY USED. THIS PROC SEEMED RARE; THE FACT THAT 2 ACFT WERE GOING TO N COMPLEX ILS APCHS. WE; AS CREW MEMBERS; ARE RELYING ON CTLRS' KNOWLEDGE OF ATC PROCS. I DID NOT LIKE THAT LATER GND SAID THEY WERE TRYING THIS PROC OUT; BUT THE SMT I BELIEVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE PROC; AS WE DID ALSO. A SMALLER ACFT BEHIND A HVY; BOTH ON ILS APCHS TO THE RWY 24L AND R RWYS AT MINIMAL SPACING DURING IFR CONDITIONS; IS NOT A GOOD PROC! WHEN FLYING AN ILS APCH; IT IS NOT TIME TO BE LOOKING VISUALLY FOR OTHER ACFT FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHICH RWY THAT ACFT IS GOING TO; ESPECIALLY WHEN APCH CTL ALLOWS THIS. I QUESTION THE LEGALITY OF THE PROC ALLOWED BY LAX APCH CTL. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH FACILITY SPECIALIST REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: ANALYST CALLED FACILITY TO DISCUSS USE OF VISUAL SEPARATION. SPECIALIST STATED THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING FORMAL SET UP ON THIS. AN ILS WAS ADDED TO RWY 24L RECENTLY AND OCCASIONALLY WILL USE DUAL PARALLEL APCHS TO BOTH RWYS 24R AND 24L. THIS PROC IS SELDOM USED BY THE CTLR; BUT ACCORDING TO THE SPECIALIST; IS LEGAL. THE ACFT HAS TO HAVE THE OTHER ACFT IN SIGHT; THEN WILL CLR HIM FOR AN ILS APCH AND TO MAINTAIN VISUAL SEPARATION FROM THE OTHER ACFT. THE CTLR HANDBOOK DOESN'T STIPULATE THAT VISUAL APCHS CAN ONLY BE ISSUED IN VFR CONDITIONS. AS A RESULT; IT IS THE PLT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO CONDUCT THE ILS APCH WHILE STILL MAINTAINING VISUAL SEPARATION WITH THE OTHER ACFT. HE EMPHASIZED THAT VISUAL SEPARATION DOESN'T REQUIRE VFR WX WHEN ISSUED.