Scotland Changes Sheriff Court Judgment Forms in 2026
This is one of those legal updates that looks tiny until you slow down and read it properly. The new Scottish Statutory Instrument made on 26 August 2026 changes how certain sheriff court judgments must be set out in writing, and it comes into force on 30 September 2026. That may sound like a narrow paperwork story, because it is. But it is also a useful example of how public institutions really work. Not every legal change creates a new right or a new offence. Sometimes the change is about making sure court decisions are recorded in a clear, standard form.
According to the legislation, the Court of Session approved draft rules submitted by the Scottish Civil Justice Council under the Scottish Civil Justice Council and Criminal Legal Assistance Act 2013. Using powers in the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, the Court of Session then made this Act of Sederunt. The dates matter because they show the formal route a rule change takes. The instrument was made on 26 August 2026, laid before the Scottish Parliament on 28 August 2026, and will come into force on 30 September 2026. It also says a certified copy must be inserted in the Books of Sederunt, which is part of the official record for court rules.
The amendment sits inside Chapter 12 of the Ordinary Cause Rules 1993. If that phrase feels dense, it helps to break it up. These are procedural rules for sheriff court civil cases, and Chapter 12 deals with interlocutors, which means the court's formal decisions and orders. The Act of Sederunt makes three practical changes. It updates the spelling of 'extempore' to 'ex tempore' wherever the word appears in Chapter 12, it says that the note required for certain judgments must now be in Form O7ZA, and it adds that new Form O7ZA after Form O7 in Appendix 1 of the rules.
The two kinds of judgment named in the amendment are 'ex tempore' judgments and reserved judgments. In simple terms, an ex tempore judgment is one the sheriff gives there and then, while a reserved judgment is issued later after the sheriff has taken time to consider the case. Under the amended rules 12.3(3) and 12.4(2)(b), both types now need a note in Form O7ZA. The explanatory note attached to the instrument says plainly that this Act of Sederunt is making provision for the form of the note required under those rules.
That is why this is best understood as a procedural change rather than a dramatic rewrite of civil law. The amendment does not appear to change the legal test in a case, the powers of the sheriff, or the result a party can ask for. What it changes is the format used when a judgment note is produced. **What this means:** when court rules require a written note of an ex tempore or reserved judgment, there is now a single prescribed form to use. For court staff, lawyers and anyone trying to follow a case, standard forms can make records easier to read, compare and file.
The spelling change from 'extempore' to 'ex tempore' may look tiny, but legal drafting often works at this level of precision. Courts rely on consistent wording, and even small edits can matter when rules are read closely or used across many cases. The bigger practical shift is the creation of Form O7ZA itself. For readers learning how institutions work, this is a good reminder that administration is not separate from justice. Clear records are part of how justice is shown, checked and understood.
The instrument is signed by Lord President Paul Cullen in Edinburgh on 26 August 2026. The source text also notes that Chapter 12 and Appendix 1 have been amended before, which is another useful civics lesson: rule books are living documents, and they are often updated in small steps rather than rewritten all at once. So the short version is this: from 30 September 2026, Scottish sheriff courts dealing with these kinds of judgments in ordinary cause cases must use the new Form O7ZA. It is a narrow amendment, but it shows you exactly how a court system keeps its language, paperwork and procedure in order.