The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of documents required to be signeted, but these have since disappeared and the Society is now an independent, non-regulatory association of solicitors. The Society maintains the Category A listed Signet Library, part of the Parliament House complex in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, and members of the Society are entitled to the postnominal letters WS.

History

Solicitors in Scotland were previously known as "writers"; Writers to the Signet were the solicitors entitled to supervise use of the King's

Signet Signet may refer to: *Signet, Kenya, A subsidiary of the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), specifically set up to broadcast and distribute the DTT signals * Signet ring, a ring with a seal set into it, typically by leaving an impression in sea ...

, the private seal of the early Kings of Scots. Records of that use date back to 1369. In 1532, the Writers to the Signet were included as Members in the newly established College of Justice, along with the Faculty of Advocates and the Clerks of the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburg ...

. The Society was established in 1594, when the King's Secretary, as Keeper of the Signet, gave commissions to a Deputy Keeper and 18 other writers. Writers to the Signet began as clerks to the Keeper of the Signet, and were afforded the privileges of freedom from taxation by the Burgh of

, exemption from

military duty Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

, and rights of audience before the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

of the College of Justice. Writers were involved in drawing up summonses to the Court of Session. Writers were, however, ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...

'' prohibited from acting as procurators but ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

'' this was often ignored. In 1599 it was proposed that the Faculty of Advocates and the Society of Writers be merged into a single organisation, but the Writers were against it. Such an idea was again proposed in 1633, but the Writers again opposed it. In civil actions in the

a pursuer is required to have his writ stamped with the Signet to give him authority from the monarch to serve the writ on the defender. That conferral, called "passing the Signet," was previously carried out by the Signet Office, the administration of which was one of the Society's responsibilities. In 1976 the Signet Office was merged into the General Department of the Court of Session and the Society was relieved of any responsibility for it. Nevertheless, the requirement of "passing the Signet" survives.

The Signet Library

The Signet Library was designed by Robert Reid with interiors by William Stark. It was finished in 1822 in time for the visit to Edinburgh of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

. William Henry Playfair and William Burn were also involved in working on the building. The building is a classical masterpiece and is a category A listed building.

Today

The Society has become an independent professional body of solicitors. Its stated purpose is "promoting the highest standards in legal services" through the provision of education services including the Professional Competence Course (PCC) and courses in Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Keeper of the Signet

The Keeper of the Signet is one of the Great Officers of State of Scotland, and is one of the offices held by the

Lord Clerk Register The office of Lord Clerk Register is the oldest surviving Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenance and care of the public records of Scotland. To ...

under the Public Offices (Scotland) Act 1817 (c 64), s 5. The current Keeper of the Signet is

Lord Mackay of Clashfern James Peter Hymers Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, (born 2 July 1927) is a British advocate. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Lord Advocate, and Lord Chancellor (1987–1997). He is a former active member of the House of L ...

, former Lord Advocate of Scotland and

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

of the United Kingdom. The office is now a purely ceremonial one, as the Keeper of the Signet grants a commission to the Principal Clerk of Session to allow the Signet to be used. The Keeper of the Signet is the senior officer of the Society of Writers to the Signet and issues commissions to new members. Although the Society is a private body, the Register of Commissions forms part of the records of the Court of Session, held by the National Archives of Scotland. The Keeper does not exercise administrative functions over the Society, these being delegated to the Deputy Keeper. The present Deputy Keeper is Mandy Laurie WS.

Associate membership

Jurists, advocates and foreign lawyers may be granted associate membership of the Society. Associate members are entitled to use the designation: "Associate Writer to the Signet" with the postnominal letters, AWS. Prominent associate members include Harvey McGregor QC and the late former President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 14th-century establishments in Scotland Organisations based in Edinburgh Seals (insignia) Legal organisations based in Scotland College of Justice 1594 establishments in Scotland