Statutory authority for rectification 7.3 The statutory authority governing rectification is contained in section 9 and rule 20. Subsection (1) of section 9 confers on the Keeper a general power to rectify any inaccuracy in the register, either on his own initiative, or on being requested to do so. It also requires him to rectify an inaccuracy on being so ordered by the court or the Lands Tribunal for Scotland. Rectification may be by way of insertion, amendment or cancellation of anything in the register. Subsection (2) gives the court and the Lands Tribunal  for  Scotland  power  to  make  orders  for  the  purposes  of  subsection  (1).  By  subsection  (3), however, if rectification of the register would prejudice a proprietor in possession, the Keeper`s power to rectify is limited, as is the power of the court or the Lands Tribunal for Scotland to order him to rectify. The circumstances in which, on the one hand, the Keeper may rectify an inaccuracy to the prejudice of a proprietor  in  possession and, on the other hand, the court  or the Lands Tribunal for Scotland may order him to do so, are set out at, respectively, paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3). What constitutes an inaccuracy? 7.4 The word ‘inaccuracy’ is not defined in the Act, but it has come under judicial consideration. In the case of Brookfield Developments Limited v. The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland<sup>1</sup> it was held that the word ‘inaccuracy’ should be ‘construed widely so as to include any incorrect or erroneous entry in or omission from  the register’.  The  inaccuracy identified by  the Lands Tribunal  in  that  case  was that certain  real  burdens  no  longer  subsisted  at  the  time  of  first  registration  and  should  not  have  been entered in the title sheet. The concept of inaccuracy in the register is not, however, confined to error or omission at the hand of the Keeper, as may be evidenced from case law. In Short`s Trustee v The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland ² it was held that the proper course for the petitioner, who had obtained a decree  of  reduction,  was  to  apply  to  the  Keeper  for  rectification  of  the  register.  It  is  clear  from  the decision that, reduction of the disposition created  an inaccuracy in the register. In the case of Kaur v Singh  and others (unreported on this particular point) the  Lord Ordinary  (Lord Hamilton) found  the register  to  be  inaccurate  to  the  extent  that  an  entry  in  it  gave  effect  to  a  disposition  on  which  the signature of one of the granters was found to have been forged. An  inaccuracy in the  register may also arise upon the  making of an  order under section  8 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions)(Scotland) Act 1985³. Where the register has given effect to terms of a document which  are later judicially altered, the  register will  become  inaccurate. By subsection  3(A)  of section 9 of the 1979 Act the entry in the register is to have effect, as rectified, from the date when the entry was made. The court may, however, specify a later date to protect the interests of a person having the benefit of section 9 of the 1985 Act. Who may apply for rectification? 7.5  The  Act  provides  no  guidance  as  to  who  may  competently  request  the  Keeper  to  rectify  an inaccuracy in the register. The Keeper`s approach is that he will consider an application from anyone who  can  show  title  and  interest  to  sue  before  the  court  or  the  Lands  Tribunal  for  Scotland.  If  an application raises contentious issues, however, the court or the Lands Tribunal for Scotland may have to be approached for an order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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