Judicial Factors (Scotland) Act 2025

1 Appointment of judicial factor

(1) The court may, on the application of an interested person (“the applicant”), appoint a judicial factor on an estate if the court considers that the conditions for appointment set out in section 4 are satisfied.

(2) Where an application is made for the appointment of a judicial factor under subsection (1), the applicant must intimate the application without delay to every person who, so far as the applicant is able to ascertain after reasonable enquiry, has an interest in the estate.

(3) The court may appoint a judicial factor on an estate in the course of proceedings connected to that estate—

(a) either—

(i) at its own instance, or

(ii) on the motion of a party who is an interested person, and

(b) if the court considers that the conditions for appointment set out in section 4 are satisfied.

(4) Where the court is minded to appoint a judicial factor under subsection (3)(a)(i), the clerk of court must, before the appointment is made, intimate that fact without delay to every person who the court considers has an interest in the estate.

(5) Where a motion is made for the appointment of a judicial factor under subsection (3)(a)(ii), the party making the motion must intimate the motion without delay to every person who—

(a) so far as the party is able to ascertain after reasonable enquiry, has an interest in the estate, and

(b) has not been notified of the motion by virtue of any applicable rules of court.

(6) The court may dispense with the requirement to intimate a matter, in whole or in part—

(a) under subsection (2) or (5) on cause shown,

(b) under subsection (4) where the court considers such dispensation to be appropriate.

(7) In this section and in section 3, “interested person” means any person who the court is satisfied has an interest in the appointing of a judicial factor on the estate to which the application relates.

(8) In this Act, “the court” means—

(a) the Court of Session,

(b) the sheriff—

(i) of a sheriffdom in which a part comprising at least one fifth of the value of the estate is situated,

(ii) of a sheriffdom in which the applicant, or any person with an interest in the estate, is habitually resident,

(iii) where the application relates to the estate of a person other than an individual, of a sheriffdom in which the person’s registered office is situated or in which the person has a place of business,

(iv) where none of sub-paragraph (i) to (iii) applies, of the sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders sitting at Edinburgh.