Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971

35 Summary causes. S

(1) The definition of “summary cause” contained in paragraph (i) of section 3 of the M1 Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1907 shall cease to have effect, and for the purposes of the procedure and practice in civil proceedings in the sheriff court there shall be a form of process, to be known as a “summary cause”, which shall be used for the purposes of all civil proceedings brought in that court, being proceedings of one or other of the following descriptions, namely—

(a) actions for payment of money not exceeding [F1 one thousand five hundred pounds] in amount (exclusive of interest and expenses);

(b) actions of multiplepoinding, actions of furthcoming and actions of sequestration for rent, where the value of the fundin medio, or the value of the arrested fund or subject, or the rent in respect of which sequestration is asked, as the case may be, does not exceed [F1 one thousand five hundred pounds] (exclusive of interest and expenses);

(c) actionsad factum praestandum and actions for the recovery of possession of heritable or moveable property, other than actions in which there is claimed in addition, or as an alternative, to a decreead factum praestandumor for such recovery, as the case may be, a decree for payment of money exceeding [F1 one thousand five hundred pounds] in amount (exclusive of interest and expenses);

(d) proceedings which, according to the law and practice existing immediately before the commencement of this Act, might competently be brought in the sheriff’s small debt court or were required to be conducted and disposed of in the summary manner in which proceedings were conducted and disposed of under the Small Debt Acts;

and any reference in the following provisions of this Act, or in any other enactment (whether passed or made before or after the commencement of this Act) relating to civil procedure in the sheriff court, to a summary cause shall be construed as a reference to a summary cause within the meaning of this subsection.

[F2 (1A) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that nothing in subsection (1) above shall prevent the Court of Session from making different rules of procedure and practice in relation to different descriptions of summary cause proceedings.]

[F3 (2) There shall be a form of summary cause process, to be known as a “small claim”, which shall be used for the purposes of such descriptions of summary cause proceedings as are prescribed by the Lord Advocate by order.

(3) No enactment or rule of law relating to admissibility or corroboration of evidence before a court of law shall be binding in a small claim.

(4) An order under subsection (2) above shall be by statutory instrument but shall not be made unless a draft of it has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by virtue of S.I. 1988/1993, art. 3

F2 S. 35(1A) inserted by Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1985 (c. 73, SIF 36:1), s. 59, Sch. 2 para. 14

F3 S. 35(2)–(4) substituted for s. 35(2) by Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1985 (c. 73, SIF 36:1), s. 18(1)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 35: power to transfer functions conferred (19.5.1999) by S.I. 1999/678, art. 2(1), Sch.

C2 S. 35(1)(c) excluded by Land Tenure Reform (Scotland) Act 1974 (c. 38), s. 9(6)

Marginal Citations

M1 1907 c. 51.