The General Assembly of this National Church, for preventing some mistakes that have happened about appeals, doth hereby appoint, that any appeals made in writing under the appellant’s hand, with the reasons thereof, in presence of the judicatory appealed from, shall be extracted by the appellant in due form from the records of the said judicatory, and produced to the judicatory appealed to at the discussing thereof, with a citation of the parties-defenders therein, either apud acta, if they be present when the appeal is made, or a separate citation if they be absent.
And because, by the former practice, parties not instantly giving in their subscribed appeals at the time of the sentence were allowed verbally to appeal, and protest for liberty to give in their subscribed appeals, with the reasons thereof, within the space of ten days thereafter; and because that before the said space the said judicatory may happen to be up, therefore, it is hereby appointed and ordained, that all parties who have, immediately after sentence, verbally appealed and protested as aforesaid, shall, within the said space of ten days, give in their said subscribed appeals, with the reasons thereof, to the clerk of the judicatory appealed from, notwithstanding it may be up before that time. And, likewise, that they shall, within the same ten days, intimate their said appeal, with the reasons of the same, to the moderator of the said judicatory, and leave an authentic copy thereof with him. Which appeals and reasons are hereby allowed to be registered by the clerk, and summons to be directed by him for citing the parties-defenders thereupon; and extracts thereof, with the cita tion foresaid, are appointed to be produced by the appellants, at discussing, to the judicatory appealed to; and the General Assembly hereby appoints the clerk to intimate to the said judicatory, at their first meeting thereafter, that such appeals were given in to him in the intervals of their meetings.
And suchlike, the General Assembly hereby appoints that all defenders in appeals, who insist in discussing thereof, shall produce extracts of the said appeals and reasons to the judicatory appealed to. And, lastly, the General Assembly hereby declares that any appeals or insistings thereanent otherwise made shall be rejected.