The Term and Quarter Days (Scotland) Act 1990 is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

which defined the dates of the Scottish Term and Quarter Days. These are customary divisions of the legal year when contracts traditionally begin and end and payments are due. It received Royal Assent on 13 July 1990 and immediate commencement, with the dates of the days changing twelve months later. The changes arose from a

Scottish Law Commission The Scottish Law Commission is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It was established in 1965 to keep Scots law under review and recommend necessary reforms to improve, simplify and update the country's legal sy ...

''Report on the Scottish Term and Quarter Days''.

Substantive Provisions

Section 1 of the Act defines the four quarter days as

Candlemas Candlemas (also spelled Candlemass), also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday commemorating the presentati ...

on 28 February,

Whitsunday Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the H ...

on 28 May,

Lammas Lammas Day (Anglo-Saxon ''hlaf-mas'', "loaf-mass"), also known as Loaf Mass Day, is a Christian holiday celebrated in some English-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere on 1 August. The name originates from the word "loaf" in reference ...

on 28 August and

Martinmas Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas, sometimes historically called Old Halloween or Old Hallowmas Eve, is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated in the liturgical year on 11 November. In the Middle Ages and early modern period, it ...

on 28 November, with Whitsunday and Martinmas being the two term days. This Act provides that any lease, agreement or undertaking, whether written or oral, which contains a specific or general reference to a term or quarter day, including those concluded before the change, shall be understood as referring to the new definitions of the days (i.e. as 28 February/May/August/November). Where it was intended in a contract concluded prior to the passing of the Act that a reference to a term or quarter day was intended to refer specifically to the previous date of that day rather than the term or quarter day generally, it is possible under sub-section (5) to apply to the

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

to have the reference interpreted in this way. The Sheriff's decision in this application is final. Under sub-section (7), where a reference is made to one of the term of quarter days and the date of this day is incorrectly specified in the contract in terms of the Act (i.e. not as 28 February/May/August/November), the date actually specified in the contract is to be used rather than that in the Act. The Act also repealed the Removings Act 1693, an Act of the old Parliament of Scotland, which had previously defined the dates of the term and quarter days. The Term and Quarter Days: * 28 February * 28 May * 28 August * 28 November

Notes

External links

The Act as currently in force

{{UK legislation
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1990 Scottish culture Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Scotland 1990 in Scotland

Substantive Provisions

See also

Notes

External links