All substantive business in the Inner House i.e. hearings not dealing with procedural business as defined by Rule 37A.1(2) of the Court of Session Rules will be conducted in person, however the court may allow parties to be heard remotely on cause shown.  A party seeking a remote, or hybrid, hearing should apply to do so by motion.

Procedural hearings in the Inner House, such as leave/permission to proceed hearings, will be conducted virtually or dealt with on the basis of written submissions, however the court may allow the hearing or part thereof to be conducted in person “on cause shown”.  A party seeking an in person or hybrid procedural hearing should apply to do so by motion.

All first instance hearings in the Outer House including proofs, debates and judicial review hearings will be conducted in-person, however the court may allow parties or their witnesses to be heard remotely on cause shown.  A party seeking a remote, or hybrid, hearing should apply to do so by motion.

Procedural hearings in the Outer House, including applications for permission to proceed in judicial review petitions, and preliminary and procedural hearings in the Commercial court, will be conducted using Webex or dealt with on the basis of written submissions, however the court may allow the hearing or part thereof to be conducted in person “on cause shown”.  A party seeking an in person or hybrid procedural hearing should apply to do so by motion.

The procedure for the allocation of opposed motions in the Outer House, enrolled in terms of either Part 2 or Part 3 of Chapter 23 of the Rules of the Court of Session, is as follows.

The Keeper's Office will allocate opposed motions for hearing in accordance with the tables below or, where this is not possible, on such other date and at such other time as may be convenient to the court and, where possible, to the parties.

All parties should ensure they have counsel available to appear on the day the opposed motion is due to call for a hearing. The availability of each parties’ Counsel must be confirmed to the Keeper’s Office following the opposed motion in Form 23.1C being enrolled or following the opposition in Form 23.4 being lodged.

Failure by the enrolling party to confirm counsel's availability may result in the motion being dropped by the court.

Failure by the opposing party to confirm counsel's availability may result in the opposed motion proceeding in that party's absence.

On the day of the opposed motion hearing, the motion will be allocated to a Lord Ordinary. Following allocation, the clerk to the Lord Ordinary will contact the parties to advise them of the time at which the motion will call and the mode of hearing.

Please note:

- As the timing of hearings is dependent upon judicial availability, it may not always be possible to provide parties with significant advance notice.

- Where the mode of hearing is in person and attendance at Parliament House would cause difficulty, a party may seek permission from the presiding Lord Ordinary, through the Lord Ordinary's clerk, to attend remotely.

All communications with the Keepers Office should be made to: keepers@scotcourts.gov.uk  

The Keeper’s office is currently fixing the following for Personal Injury Proofs and Ordinary Action Proofs:

Personal Injury 4 day Proofs

Tuesday 8th June 2027

4 day Proofs

Tuesday 23rd March 2027 

Personal Injury Proofs requiring more than 4 days

Tuesday 19th January 2027

Ordinary Action Proofs requiring more than 4 days

Tuesday 19th January 2027

Fixing Form

Guidance for completing Court Of Session Fixing Form

Court Of Session Fixing Form