According to legislation.gov.uk, the Court of Session made the Act of Sederunt (Taxation of Judicial Expenses Rules) (Amendment) 2026 on 18 August 2026. The instrument was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 20 August 2026 and is due to come into force on 10 October 2026. The amendment applies across the Court of Session, the Sheriff Appeal Court and the Sheriff Court. Its purpose is limited but practically important: it updates the 2019 rules on taxation of judicial expenses, the process by which claimed court expenses are checked and allowed under the rules.
The principal financial change is an increase in the value of the "unit" in rule 3.2 of the 2019 rules, from £18.00 to £22.10. Within the charging structure used for judicial expenses, that unit is a reference figure used when certain expenses are taxed or assessed. The explanatory note on legislation.gov.uk states that the higher figure applies only to work carried out on or after 10 October 2026. The amendment therefore does not retrospectively alter the rate for earlier work.
That commencement rule is likely to matter in ongoing cases. Where litigation spans the October start date, work completed before 10 October 2026 remains tied to the earlier £18.00 unit, while later work may fall under the new £22.10 figure. In practical terms, firms and court users may need clearer records showing when work was done. If an account of expenses is later challenged or taxed, the date of each item of work could affect the figure that is ultimately allowed.
The instrument also amends rule 3.7 on simple procedure. Its heading is changed to "reduction of charges", and the provision is rewritten so that it expressly applies in any simple procedure case where expenses fall to be taxed or assessed by reference to the table of charges in schedule 5. The explanatory note says this change is intended to make clear that rule 3.7 relates to the reduction of charges. The instrument also removes wording from paragraph (3), which further tidies the drafting of that rule.
A separate amendment is made to rule 4.2 on outlays. The words "(including court fees)" are inserted after "outlays", making express on the face of the rules that court fees are an allowable outlay. That clarification is likely to matter where parties are arguing about recoverable costs at the end of a case. By spelling out that court fees are included, the rules now give a clearer basis for allowing those sums when expenses are taxed.
The instrument is signed by the Lord President, Paul Cullen, and is made under powers that include the Litigants in Person (Costs and Expenses) Act 1975 and the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. As presented on legislation.gov.uk, this is a technical amendment rather than a broad policy shift, but it has direct consequences for how civil court costs are calculated from autumn 2026. For practitioners, litigants and court administrators, the immediate significance lies in timing and presentation. The amended rules set a new unit value from 10 October 2026, clarify the operation of the simple procedure provision, and state expressly that court fees form part of allowable outlays.