The Act of Sederunt makes provision regarding the lay representation of non-natural persons in civil proceedings in the Court of Session, the Sheriff Appeal Court and the sheriff court, and partly implements Chapter 4 (lay representation for non-natural persons) of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.

A ‘non – natural person’ as defined in Section 95 of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 means:

•  a company (whether incorporated in the United Kingdom or elsewhere)

• a limited liability partnership

• any other partnership

• an unincorporated association of persons.

The Act of Sederunt provides procedural rules and a Form of application for applications to the court for permission for a lay representative to conduct proceedings on behalf of a non-natural person. The rules include a requirement that an application must be accompanied by an authorisation document. The function, conditions and duties of a lay representative are set out in the rules and provision is made for occasions where the court may find a lay representative and non- natural person liable in expenses.

The Act comes into force on 28 November 2016.