The Court of Session has made a narrow but operationally important amendment to Scotland’s sheriff court civil procedure. The Act of Sederunt (Ordinary Cause Rules 1993 Amendment) (Judgments) 2026 was made on 26 August 2026, laid before the Scottish Parliament on 28 August 2026 and comes into force on 30 September 2026. The text published on legislation.gov.uk states that the rules were approved after draft rules were submitted by the Scottish Civil Justice Council. The instrument is made under powers in section 104(1) of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, placing the change within the established process used to update sheriff court procedure.
The amendment sits within Chapter 12 of the Ordinary Cause Rules 1993, which deals with interlocutors, the formal orders and judgments recorded by the court. Its main effect is to require that the note accompanying certain judgments must be issued in a new prescribed format, Form O7ZA. In practice, that requirement applies in two situations already recognised by the rules: ex tempore judgments under rule 12.3(3), where the sheriff gives judgment at the hearing, and reserved judgments under rule 12.4(2)(b), where the decision is issued later. In both cases, the note must now be in Form O7ZA.
The instrument also updates terminology. Everywhere Chapter 12 currently uses “extempore”, the spelling is changed to “ex tempore”. The explanatory material makes clear that this is a drafting adjustment rather than a change to the substance of the rule. That distinction matters. The legal event remains the same: a judgment delivered orally at the time, rather than after being reserved. What changes from 30 September is the documentation that must accompany the judgment, not the court’s power to give it.
The new form is added to Appendix 1 of the Ordinary Cause Rules immediately after Form O7, which is the notice of intention to defend. By inserting Form O7ZA into the standard forms appendix, the Court of Session is turning the judgment note into a formally prescribed document rather than leaving layout and wording to local practice. For solicitors, sheriff clerks and court staff, the effect is administrative but real. Precedent banks, case management systems and internal templates will need to reflect the new form before commencement. Any organisation that prepares or processes ordinary cause paperwork will want its documents aligned with the amended rules by 30 September.
The explanatory note on legislation.gov.uk says the purpose of the instrument is to make provision for the form of the note required under rules 12.3 and 12.4. On its face, this is a standardisation measure. Although the note does not set out wider policy aims, a mandatory form usually supports more consistent recording of court decisions across cases and sheriff courts. That can matter beyond court administration. When judgment notes follow one prescribed format, parties and representatives may find it easier to identify the decision and the associated procedural record. Consistency in court documents also tends to reduce avoidable disputes about whether a note contains the information the rules require.
What the amendment does not do is alter the substance of ordinary cause litigation. It does not change who can raise proceedings, how cases are defended, the test for appeals or the legal status of judgments. The operative change is confined to the form of the note used for ex tempore and reserved judgments, alongside the spelling update in Chapter 12. That narrow scope is typical of procedural maintenance work. Civil justice rules depend on a large volume of technical amendments, many of which attract little public attention but still shape day-to-day court practice. For practitioners, the importance of this instrument lies in ensuring that post-judgment paperwork is produced in the correct format from the commencement date.
The instrument was signed by Lord President Paul Cullen in Edinburgh on 26 August 2026, and the text states that a certified copy is to be inserted in the Books of Sederunt. That closes the formal rule-making process and sets a clear implementation point for the sheriff courts. The practical message is straightforward. From 30 September 2026, ordinary cause cases in Scotland that result in an ex tempore or reserved judgment will need the accompanying note to use Form O7ZA. For legal professionals and court users, the change is procedural rather than substantive, but compliance will depend on having the right form in place on the day the rules take effect.