Article 7 Applications for recommendation for commission as messenger-at-arms
An application by a sheriff officer for recommendation for a commission as a messenger-at-arms under section 77(1) of the Act of 1987 shall be by petition presented to the Outer House of the Court of Session in form 1 and signed by the petitioner or his solicitor.
There shall be lodged with a petition under paragraph (1) of this rule—
an inventory of productions;
a copy of the entry in the Register of Births relating to the petitioner;
a certificate from the Society that the petitioner has passed the examinations set by the committee of examiners of the Society; and
a certificate from another officer of court specifying the period that the petitioner has been in practice as a sheriff officer.
A petition under paragraph (1) to this rule shall not require a process and shall not be intimated on the walls of court, served or advertised.
Where the court grants the prayer of such a petition, the clerk of the Petition Department of the Court of Session shall send a copy of the petition, with the interlocutor granting the prayer written on it, to the Lyon clerk.
The Lord Lyon shall not issue a commission to a sheriff officer as a messenger-at-arms until the sheriff officer has lodged with the Lyon clerk—
a copy letter of receipt issued by a regional sheriff clerk in respect of the bond of caution required under rule 9 below; and
a copy letter of receipt issued by a regional sheriff clerk in respect of a copy premium receipt from an insurance company for professional indemnity insurance required under rule 11(1)(a) below.
When the Lord Lyon issues a sheriff officer with a commission as a messenger-at-arms under section 77(1) of the Act of 1987, he shall administer to the sheriff officer the oath or declaration of allegiance to the Sovereign.