His Majesty's Advocate General for Scotland ( gd, Àrd-neach-tagraidh an Rìgh airson Alba) is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, whose duty it is to advise the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

and

His Majesty's Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland ...

. The Office of the Advocate General for Scotland is a ministerial department of His Majesty's Government. The position is currently held by Lord Stewart of Dirleton.

History

The office of Advocate General for Scotland was created in 1999 by the

Scotland Act 1998 The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...

to be the chief legal adviser to the United Kingdom Government on Scots law. This function had previously been carried out by the

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...

and Solicitor General for Scotland, who were transferred to the Scottish Government on the establishment of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

. The office of the Advocate General for Scotland should not be confused with that of "His Majesty's Advocate", which is the term used for the Lord Advocate in Scottish criminal proceedings.

List of Advocates General for Scotland

The first holder of the office was Lynda Clark, then Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Pentlands and from 2005 a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

as Baroness Clark of Calton. On 18 January 2006, Baroness Clark resigned to take up office as a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Sessio ...

, a judge of the

Supreme Courts of Scotland The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, a ...

. The office was then vacant until 15 March of that year when, under section 87 of the

, its functions were temporarily conferred on the Secretary of State for Scotland,

Alastair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (born 28 November 1953) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Member ...

MP, himself a Scottish

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However ...

. There had been substantial criticism from the judiciary and others of the length of time the office had been left vacant. On 21 March, however, it was announced Neil Davidson, former Solicitor General for Scotland, had been appointed Advocate General. He was created a life peer, as Baron Davidson of Glen Clova, on 22 March 2006. On 14 May 2010,

Jim Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, (born 25 August 1954) is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the British House of Lords since 2007 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ...

, a former

Deputy First Minister of Scotland The Deputy First Minister of Scotland ( gd, Leas-Phrìomh Mhinistear na h-Alba; sco, Heid Meinister Depute o Scotland) is the second highest ranking minister of the Government of Scotland, behind the First Minister of Scotland. The post-hold ...

, was appointed by the

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

. Richard Keen was appointed Advocate General in David Cameron's majority government on 29 May 2015, and has retained the post through two subsequent prime ministers to 2020. He was created a life peer, as Baron Keen of Elie, on 8 June 2015. He resigned on 16 September 2020 citing concerns arising from the

UK Internal Market Bill The United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in December 2020. It is concerned with trade within the UK, as the UK is no longer subject to EU law. The act seeks to prevent internal trade b ...

, noting in his letter of resignation to

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...

that he found it "increasingly difficult to reconcile what I consider to be my obligations as a Law Officer with your policy intentions". Keith Stewart was appointed to succeed Keen on 15 October 2020.

Organisation

The office has a staff of around 40. All staff are on secondment or loan from other government organisations, mainly the Scottish Government and the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Justi ...

. Offices of the Advocate General *Advocate General's Private Office, based in London *Legal Secretariat to the Advocate General (LSAG), based in London **Legal Secretary to the Advocate General *Office of the Advocate General (OAG), based in Edinburgh **Solicitor to the Advocate General *** Head of Litigation Division (

) *** Head of Advisory & Legislation Division (

Primary legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democ ...

subordinate legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democr ...

, Scotland Act draft orders) *** Head of

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Division

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Advocate General For Scotland 1999 establishments in Scotland

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...