The Court of Session has made the Act of Sederunt (Taxation of Judicial Expenses Rules) (Amendment) 2026, a targeted change to the rules governing judicial expenses in Scotland. The instrument was made on 18 August 2026, laid before the Scottish Parliament on 20 August 2026 and comes into force on 10 October 2026. As set out in the Scottish Statutory Instrument, the amendment updates the 2019 Taxation of Judicial Expenses Rules used in the Court of Session, Sheriff Appeal Court and Sheriff Court. In practical terms, it alters part of the mechanism used to calculate recoverable legal costs and clarifies two points that affect day-to-day expenses work.
The main financial change sits in rule 3.2 of the 2019 Rules. The value of the "unit" is increased from £18.00 to £22.10. That matters because the unit is used within the tables of charges applied when expenses are taxed or assessed. Where an item of work is priced by reference to units, the higher figure will increase the amount that can be recovered under the rules once the new rate takes effect.
The commencement provision is especially important for ongoing matters. The instrument states that the higher unit has no effect for fees payable in respect of work carried out before 10 October 2026. This means the increase is not retrospective. Work completed before that date remains subject to the previous £18 rate, while work done on or after 10 October 2026 will be assessed using £22.10 where the rules require the unit calculation. For solicitors, clients and parties meeting an award of expenses, accurate dating of work done will therefore matter at taxation.
A second amendment concerns simple procedure. Rule 3.7 is retitled so that its heading becomes "reduction of charges", and the rule is recast to state that it 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 accompanying note to the instrument presents this as a clarification of scope rather than a broad rewrite of entitlement. The immediate effect is to make the drafting plainer for auditors and parties dealing with simple procedure accounts of expenses.
The amendment also adjusts rule 4.2 on allowance of outlays. The words "(including court fees)" are inserted after "outlays". That is a short change with clear practical value. It puts beyond doubt on the face of the rule that court fees are an allowable outlay when expenses are being examined. For court users, this should reduce room for argument about whether court dues are recoverable as part of the expenses process.
The instrument also records the formal route by which the change was made. The text states that the Court of Session approved draft rules submitted by the Scottish Civil Justice Council before making the Act of Sederunt under powers in the Litigants in Person (Costs and Expenses) Act 1975 and the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. It was signed in Edinburgh by the Lord President, Paul Cullen, on 18 August 2026. The instrument further provides that a certified copy is to be inserted in the Books of Sederunt, preserving the amendment within the formal body of court rules.
For court practitioners and litigants, the amendment is narrow in scope but financially relevant. Any case in which post-10 October work falls to be taxed or assessed by reference to the unit system may produce a higher recoverable figure than under the current rate. The broader position is one of clarification rather than structural reform. The 2026 amendment does three specific things: it raises the unit value, makes the simple procedure rule easier to apply and confirms expressly that court fees are allowable outlays. Those are the points that firms, auditors and court users will need to apply from 10 October 2026.