"Make it clear" is how the official note describes parts of this latest court rule change, but for people using Scotland’s civil courts the effect is more than tidy drafting. Under the Act of Sederunt (Taxation of Judicial Expenses Rules) (Amendment) 2026, the value of the judicial expenses unit will rise from £18.00 to £22.10 from 10 October 2026. The Scottish Statutory Instrument was made on 18 August 2026, laid before the Scottish Parliament on 20 August 2026, and will apply across the Court of Session, Sheriff Appeal Court and Sheriff Court. It is the sort of move that will not trouble the London chatter, yet it matters on the ground because judicial expenses are where principle turns into pounds.

According to the instrument, the increase in the unit only applies to work carried out on or after 10 October 2026. That means there is no blanket backdating. If a case has been running for months, solicitors, auditors and parties will now have to draw a clear line through the file and work out what was done before the change and what came after. That detail may sound dry, but it is where arguments often start. In a taxed account of expenses, even a modest rise in the unit can carry weight once work stacks up over hearings, motions, drafting and procedural steps. For firms advising clients on risk, the message is plain enough: costs estimates prepared before August will need another look before autumn is out.

The amendment also alters rule 3.7 of the 2019 rules, changing its heading to "reduction of charges" and rewriting part of the provision so it clearly applies in simple procedure cases where expenses are taxed or assessed by reference to the table of charges in schedule 5. The explanatory note says the point is to make clear what the rule is for. That matters because simple procedure is meant to deal with lower-value disputes in a way that is quicker and easier to follow. When the wording around expenses is muddy, small claims can become harder to call, especially for party litigants and people trying to judge whether a case is worth pursuing. This change does not rewrite the system, but it does remove room for doubt in an area where doubt can be expensive.

Another small but important line sits in rule 4.2. The amended wording now states that allowable outlays include court fees. Again, the explanatory note says this is there to "make it clear". For practitioners, that clarity will be welcome. For court users, it confirms that fees paid to the court are not some separate, awkward add-on but part of the expenses picture. There is, though, a harder edge to that reassurance. A cost can be recoverable at the end of a case and still be difficult to carry at the start. Anyone raising or defending proceedings still has to think about cash flow, settlement pressure and the risk of paying out before any recovery is made. Access to justice is not only about who wins in the end; it is also about who can afford to stay in the fight long enough to get there.

For solicitors in Scotland, especially smaller high street practices, the practical work starts now. Engagement letters, estimates, advice on exposure and discussions about settlement will all need to reflect the new unit value. Cases that cross the 10 October 2026 start date may need especially careful recording, because post-October work will sit on a different footing from work already done. For litigants, the shift is straightforward even if the rulebook is not. Bringing or defending a civil case in Scotland may now cost more once expenses are taxed, and that can shape decisions long before a sheriff or judge reaches the merits. In unpaid invoice disputes, neighbourhood rows, property claims and other ordinary cases, these rules do not sit in the background for long. They become part of the bargaining from the moment expenses are discussed.

The Court of Session approved draft rules submitted by the Scottish Civil Justice Council before making this Act of Sederunt, which shows this was a planned procedural change rather than a last-minute fix. Even so, it lands at a time when many court users already see civil justice as something measured as much by affordability as by fairness. So this is not a dramatic overhaul, and it is not being sold as one. It is a targeted change to the machinery of costs: the judicial expenses unit goes up to £22.10, simple procedure wording is tightened, and court fees are expressly recognised as allowable outlays. From 10 October 2026, anyone involved in civil litigation in Scotland will be working to that new set of numbers, and the old line that procedure is just paperwork will ring a bit hollow.