Certain types of proceedings in the Court of Session must be initiated by presenting a petition. This Practice Note sets out the procedure that applies to petitions. For information on: • other types of procedure in the Court of Session and sheriff courts in Scotland, see: Scottish DR: courts and civil procedure—overview, which links through to detailed guidance • other aspects of Scottish civil litigation, see the following Overviews, which link through to more detailed guidance: ◦ Scottish DR: prescription and limitation—overview ◦ Scottish DR: starting a claim—overview ◦ Scottish DR: case management and evidence—overview ◦ Scottish DR: expenses and funding—overview ◦ Scottish DR: civil appeals and judicial review—overview ◦ Scottish DR: claims and remedies—overview ◦ Scottish DR: enforcement—overview ◦ Scottish DR: settlement and ADR—overview Key: • RCS—Rules of the Court of Session 1994 What is a petition for? Petitions are applications made directly to the court in terms of which the petitioner seeks the

A scheme for handling both paper and electronic petitions which principal authorities are required to make, publicise and comply with in line with Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.

The Petitions Committee has scheduled a parliamentary debate for 2 March 2026 to consider a petition signed by over 152,000 individuals calling for the removal of the Secretary of State’s power to cancel local elections. The petition seeks legislative change to remove the Secretary of State's authority to cancel upcoming local government, metropolitan borough, London borough and other elections, including those due to take place in May 2026. In its response of 5 January 2026, the government stated that these powers are provided for by primary legislation and are exercised only where there is strong justification, adding that it has no plans to amend them.

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: The High Court recently considered two important issues regarding a winding-up petition based on unregistered/unrecognised foreign judgment debts. Firstly, whether such debts can find a winding-up petition, and secondly the applicable limitation regime. It was held that an unregistered/unrecognised foreign judgment debt can constitute a 'debt' for the purposes of winding-up. Further, this decision also confirms that no limitation period applies to prevent the presentation of a winding-up petition based on a foreign judgment debt that has not been registered or recognised. Written by Aziz Abdul, legal director at Addleshaw Goddard LLP.

Two petitions against the Home Office’s proposed plans to extend the time taken to qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) will be debated in Parliament on 8 September 2025, after each receiving over 100,000 signatures. The petitions are in response to reforms contained in the Immigration White Paper, published in May 2025, which propose increasing the standard qualifying period for ILR from five years to ten years.

Law 360, London: Corruption allegations surrounding Petrofac threatened to spill into the English civil courts as a litigation funder said it is preparing to back shareholders in a claim against the oil services company, which is already under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

Law360, Expert Analysis: On 1 July 2025, the UK Court of Appeal overturned the High Court's sanction of Petrofac Ltd's restructuring plans.

What are petrol filling stations? Filling stations traditionally sell petrol, diesel fuel and paraffin that are usually stored in underground tanks of varying capacity. Sites range from small urban and rural petrol filling stations with just one or two petrol pumps, to large garages with a comprehensive workshop offering repair and maintenance services. The number of forecourts has declined since the 1960s and a significant number of sites have changed ownership from oil company to dealer. Activities Filling stations Petrol consists of a mixture of volatile hydrocarbons and chemical additives. Additives include oxygenates used for stabilising and anti-knock components. The levels of anti-knock compounds are controlled by legislation and have been progressively reduced. In unleaded petrol, the anti-knock compounds have been replaced with other chemicals, for example methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) which is an octane booster. Detergents have also been added to petrol which help to keep carburettors, fuel injectors and inlet valves free of carbon deposits. Diesel is a mixture of hydrocarbons distilled from crude petroleum, consisting of a mixture of cetane and

This Practice Note is about the rules on petroleum revenue tax (PRT), which was payable by oil companies on the value of oil and gas produced and receipts from the use of qualifying infrastructure, less certain costs and reliefs. PRT was charged at varying rates following its introduction in 1975. It was set at 50% from July 1993 until it was reduced to zero with effect from 1 January 2016. It is still however possible to create losses which can be carried back to recover past PRT paid. For information on the corporation tax, supplementary charge and energy profits levy rules applying to companies in the oil and gas sector, see Practice Note: Oil and gas—corporation tax, supplementary charge and energy profits levy. PRT post 1 January 2016 Under a 0% regime, losses calculated under the PRT rules arising on decommissioning or otherwise must be carried back on a last in, first out basis such that they would first have to be set against profits suffering the 0% rate, with only the excess losses being

Introduction When transporting petroleum through a pipeline, there are two options available to the owner of the petroleum: • build and own a dedicated pipeline from the relevant field to its intended place of delivery, or • tie-in a dedicated pipeline from the field to a third party’s adjacent pipeline(s) If using the first option, the field owners will typically enter into a Pipeline Operating Agreement (POA) to govern the construction and operation of the pipeline among themselves (the terms of which are similar to a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA)) (see Practice Notes: The purpose and the principles of the joint operating agreement and Joint operating agreement—key clauses for more information on JOAs). In general, it will set out ownership interests, formation of an operating committee and voting mechanisms, capacity entitlement (usually proportionate to ownership interests), allocation of costs and liabilities associated with the pipeline, and appointment of an operator. The POA gives each of the owners their own capacity to transport petroleum in the pipeline without the need to pay a third party for transportation. In the

Employment analysis: Employers are facing an increasing number of requests from employees looking to bring their pets (normally dogs) into the office. This latest trend stems from the transition from home to office working, with many pet-owning employees not willing or able to spend a full day away from their pet. Keely Rushmore, an employment law specialist at Keystone Law, explains why any employer considering letting dogs into the workplace needs to consider their position carefully, not least from a disability discrimination and health and safety perspective.

Law360, London: Pfizer asked an appeals court on 10 July 2025 to revoke surplus patent protections underpinning rival Moderna's mRNA vaccine after getting a key patent tossed.