The Council has produced new Rules which will come into force next month amending the Simple Procedure Rules and the Fatal Accident Inquiry Rules.

Since the Simple Procedure Rules came into force last year, the Council’s Secretariat has liaised with officials from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service with a view to ensuring the rules can operate effectively in the courts. The Council has also received feedback on the Rules from a variety of stakeholders, such as the Society of Messengers at Arms and Sheriff Officers (SMASO) and Citizens Advice Scotland. This feedback has been considered in detail by the Council and amendments have been made to improve and clarify the Rules.

The amendments are as follows:

• the Decision Form is amended and requires the sheriff clerk to set out the date of the decision
• the Form of Charge used in Simple Procedure cases is amended to align it with the Form of Charge prescribed in all other civil proceedings
• Rule 15.3 is amended and provides, as per section 7(1) of the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Extracts Act 1892, that service of a charge is required  prior to enforcing a decision by: (i) an earnings arrestment; (ii) a money attachment; or (iii) the attachment of article.

The Instrument also makes various minor drafting amendments to the FAI rules prior to their commencement to ensure that the Rules operate as intended.

See the Rules section for more detailed information.