Citation, the act of calling a party into court to answer to an action, to give evidence, or to perform some other judicial act. In England the term citation is applied particularly to process in the spiritual, probate, and matrimonial courts. In Scotland, a citation is given in the Court of Session by an officer of court, or by a Messenger-at-arms (q.v.), under authority either of a summons passing the Signet (q.v.), or of a warrant by the court. Where no messenger-at-arms is resident in the district, it may be done by a sheriff-officer. Citation is made either personally, by delivery of a copy of the warrant to the party cited; or at the dwelling-place, when the party cannot be found in person. There must be one witness in every case, and in the case of pointings two witnesses to the execution of a warrant of citation. Parties resident out of Scotland, and tutors and curators of minors, are cited edictally—i.e. by delivery of the warrant at the office of the Keeper of Edictal Citation at the General Register House in Edinburgh. The officer who executes the citation returns a certificate, called the Execution, of the manner in which it has been done. A new form of citation was introduced by the Citation Amendment Act of 1882, by which any officer authorised under the older law, or any enrolled law-agent, may execute a warrant of citation, by sending a registered letter to the known residence or place of business of the person to be cited, containing a copy of the summons or other document to be served with the citation subjoined.
In criminal cases the party cannot appear voluntarily in court; he must be cited, and can plead any omission in form, which cannot be obviated even by consent. This form of citation is regulated by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act, 1887. Under this act the sheriff-clerk, for cases in the Sheriff Court, and the clerk of justiciary, for cases in the High Court, issue warrants in the form of a schedule appended to the act. Service of the indictment and citation on these warrants may be made by any macer, messenger-at-arms, sheriff-officer, or officer of police. When the accused is in prison, it may be made by a governor or warden.