Scottish Court of Session Decisions

Subject_1Burghs Extension Act 1857 (20 and 21 Vict. c. 70)
Subject_2Sheriff
Subject_3Appeal
Subject_4Competency.
Facts:

By sec. 1 of Act 20 and 21 Vict. c. 70, it is enacted—“(1) Any ratepayers to the number of twelve or more, in respect of lands and heritages situated beyond the existing boundaries of any royal or parliamentary burgh in Scotland, may present a petition to the Sheriff of the county in which such burgh or part of a burgh is situated, praying him to take the steps provided by this Act for extending the boundaries of the burgh to the extent to be specified in such petition; and the Sheriff shall, within three weeks from the date of the presentation thereof, define and specify in a written deliverance on the petition such boundaries, which shall include an area two-thirds of which is wholly or partially built on or laid out for building, as in his opinion would be suitable for the extended boundaries of the burgh, and the same shall be thereafter published by advertisement in such manner as the Sheriff shall direct; and it shall be lawful for the proprietor of any unbuilt-on land within the proposed extended boundaries, or to the Police Committee of the county to be appointed in terms of any Act passed during the present session of Parliament, within one month after the last advertisement so appointed to appeal by Note of Appeal to any one of the Lords Ordinary of the Court of Session, who shall have power in a summary way, to dispose of such appeal after such inquiry as to him shall seem fit; and the judgment of such Lord Ordinary dismissing such appeal, or sustaining the same in whole or in part, shall be final and conclusive.” In a petition presented by certain ratepayers to the Sheriff for the purpose of extending the boundaries of a burgh, the Sheriff found that the boundaries described in the petition, or any others which might be within its scope, did not contain an area two-thirds of which was wholly or partially built on or laid out for building, and also that the boundaries were not such as would be suitable for the extended boundaries of the burgh. The petitioners, and also the magistrates and town-council of the burgh, on whom intimation of the petition had been made, and who had complained, appealed to the Court of Session.— Held that the appeal was incompetent, there being no review of the Sheriff's judgment except what was expressly provided by the Act.