Act of Sederunt (Sheriff Court Rules Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2015

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Act of Sederunt)

This Act of Sederunt amends the Ordinary Cause Rules 1993 in implementation of the Section 16 Enterprise Act 2002 Regulations 2015.

Those Regulations allow for the transfer to the Competition Appeal Tribunal of so much of any proceedings before the High Court or county court (in England and Wales) and the Court of Session or sheriff court (in Scotland) as relates to an infringement issue, that is, whether a prohibition in Chapters 1 or 2 of the Competition Act 1998 (c.41) or Articles 101 or 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (O.J. C. 326, pp. 1 – 390, 26 October 2012) has been or is being committed.

This Act of Sederunt amends Chapter 42 of the Ordinary Cause Rules 1993 to allow for transfer to the Competition Appeal Tribunal of such a question of the sheriff’s own accord or on the application of a party to the proceedings

This Act of Sederunt also amends the Act of Sederunt (Child Care and Maintenance Rules) 1997 in consequence of the coming into force of section 44A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 and the Secure Accommodation (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2015.

Section 44A provides for a new right of appeal to the sheriff against a decision by a local authority to detain in secure accommodation a child found guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment.

As a result, the scope of Chapter 3 of the Child Care and Maintenance Rules has been widened so as to apply to appeals under section 44A. A new Part VIIIB has been inserted into Chapter 3 to make provision for the procedure to be followed in such an appeal. A new Form 64C (form of appeal) and Form 64D (form of intimation to child) are prescribed for this purpose.