This Act of Sederunt was made by the Court of Session on Monday 30th of August and laid before the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 1st September 2021. It will come in to force on the 29th of September 2021.

The Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Civil Online) 2021 extends the expiration date contained in the Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Civil Online) 2020 by a further 6 months. This means that the provisions contained in the 2020 Rules are now due to expire on 31^st March 2022.

The 2020 Rules make it mandatory to submit a simple procedure claim via the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (“SCTS”) Civil Online platform or the internet interface to the SCTS case management system. Under the rules, claimants may make an application to submit a claim on paper if they are unable to use either of these options. A sheriff will consider and decide whether a claimant could have submitted their claim by either of these methods, based on an explanation the claimant provides in a note.

The reason for extending the provisions of the 2020 Rules is to enable the Council to fully monitor the impact of the Rules in practice, before making a final policy decision on whether the provisions should be retained, abandoned or changed in any way ahead of the new expiry date of 31 March 2022.