(1)The Lord President of the Court of Session may, for any sheriff principal or temporary sheriff principal, approve leave of absence for recreational or other purposes.
(2)The sheriff principal of a sheriffdom may, for any sheriff or summary sheriff of the sheriffdom, approve leave of absence for recreational or other purposes.
(3)The amount of leave for recreational purposes approved under this section for any sheriff principal, temporary sheriff principal, sheriff or summary sheriff must not exceed 7 weeks in any year.
(4)That limit may be exceeded in any case with the permission of the Lord President.
(5)The Lord President may grant permission under subsection (4) only if there are special reasons in the particular case that justify exceeding the limit.
(6)The Lord President may delegate to a judge of the Court of Session a function conferred on the Lord President by this section.
(7)In subsections (1) and (2), the references to leave of absence for purposes other than recreational purposes include (but are not limited to) references to sick leave, compassionate leave and study leave.