The Act Part 4 – Procedure and Fees
176.The former Lord President of the Court of Session Lord Gill, who led the Scottish Civil Courts Review, has said that the reforms should be made effective through new rules of court. Whilst the Part 4 sets out the reformed framework for the civil courts system in Scotland, the detail will be provided in rules of court.
177.Part 4 also provides for the Court to have the ability to regulate fees in the Court of Session, as it does in the sheriff court and Sheriff Appeal Court, and the powers from the various acts have been rationalised into the Act to achieve this, clearly conferring on the Court power to regulate the fees of certain persons in the exercise of their functions in the Court of Session. This will bring together the powers of the Court of Session to regulate fees and remove the need to rely on the meaning of section 5 of the Court of Session Act 1988, particularly when regulating fees with regard to messenger-at-arms and shorthand writers.