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 The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...

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 th ...

for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...

powers 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 Holy ...

. They are the chief public prosecutor for Scotland and all

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tri ...

s on indictment are conducted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in the Lord Advocate's name on behalf of the Monarch. The officeholder is one of the Great Officers of State of Scotland. The current Lord Advocate is Dorothy Bain KC, who was nominated by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in June 2021.

History

The office of Advocate to the monarch is an ancient one. The first recognised Lord Advocate was esteemed legal scholar and philosopher Sir Ross Grimley of Goldenacre, recorded in 1483 as serving

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

James III. At this time the post was generally called the King's Advocate and only in the year 1573 was the term "Lord Advocate" first used. From 1707 to 1998, the Lord Advocate was the chief legal adviser of the British Government and the Crown on Scottish legal matters, both civil and criminal, until 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 ...

devolved most domestic affairs to the Scottish Parliament.

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 ...

is now advised on

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 ...

by the

Advocate General for Scotland 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 and His Majesty's Government on Scots law. The Office of the Advocate Gener ...

. The Lord Advocate is not head of the Faculty of Advocates; that position is held by the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.

Parliamentary and government role

Until devolution in 1999, all lord advocates were, by convention, members of the United Kingdom government, although the post was not normally in the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. Since devolution, the Lord Advocate has been an automatically ''ex officio'' member of the Scottish Government. From 1999 until 2007, the Lord Advocate attended the weekly Scottish Cabinet meetings. However, after the 2007 election, the new First Minister Alex Salmond decided that Lord Advocate would no longer attend the Scottish Cabinet, stating he wished to "de-politicise" the post. Until devolution, all lord advocates were, by convention, members of either the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

or 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 Westminster ...

to allow them to speak for the government. Those who were not already members of either house received a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...

on appointment. Post-devolution, the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland are permitted to attend and speak in the Scottish Parliament ''ex officio'', even if they are not Members of the Scottish Parliament.

Future careers of lord advocates

Appointments as Senators of the College of Justice were formerly made on the nomination of the Lord Advocate. Every Lord Advocate between 1842 and 1967 was later appointed to the bench, either on demitting office or at a later date. Many lord advocates in fact nominated themselves for appointment as Lord President of the Court of Session or as

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. Originally ''clericus justiciarie'' or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the L ...

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is headed by the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland, and is the public prosecution service in Scotland. It also carries out functions which are broadly equivalent to the coroner in

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

jurisdictions. Incorporated within the Crown Office is the Legal Secretariat to the Lord Advocate.

Crown Agent

The Crown Agent is the principal legal advisor to the Lord Advocate on prosecution matters. He or she also acts as Chief Executive for the department and as solicitor in all legal proceedings in which the Lord Advocate appears as representing his or her own department. They issue general instructions for the guidance of Crown counsel, procurators fiscal, sheriff clerks and other public officials; transmits instructions from Crown counsel to procurators fiscal about prosecutions; and in consultation with the Clerk of Justiciary, arranges sittings of the High Court of Justiciary. At trials in the High Court in Edinburgh, they attend as instructing solicitor. They are assisted by other senior legal, managerial and administrative staff. The Crown Agent also holds the office of King's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer.

Calls for reform

In the Greshornish House Accord of 16 September 2008, Professors Hans Köchler and Robert Black said—

It is inappropriate that the Chief Legal Adviser to the Government is also head of all criminal prosecutions. Whilst the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General continue as public prosecutors the principle of separation of powers seems compromised. The potential for a conflict of interest always exists. Resolution of these circumstances would entail an amendment of the provisions contained within the Scotland Act 1998.

The judges of Scotland's highest court came to share this view. In a submission to the commission set up to consider how the devolution settlement between Scotland and the United Kingdom could be improved, the judges recommended that the Lord Advocate should cease to be the head of the public prosecution system and should act only as the Scottish Government's chief legal adviser. They noted various ways in which the Lord Advocate's roles had caused problems for the judicial system, including the ability "to challenge... virtually any act of a prosecutor has led to a plethora of disputed issues, with consequential delays to the holding of trials and to the hearing and completion of appeals against conviction." The judges proposed three alternative solutions: stripping the Lord Advocate of responsibility for prosecutions, exempting the Lord Advocate from compliance with the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

, or changing the law on criminal appeals. While not specifically favouring any of the three, they noted that the third proposal was radical enough to "generate considerable controversy".

List of lord advocates

Pre-Union

* 1478 or earlier–1494: John Ross of Montgrenan * 1494–1503: James Henryson of Fordell * 1503–1521?:In the National Records of Scotland (GD243/23/2) is a charter dated 23 September 1508 wherein Jonet Elphinstoun is mentioned as "relict of the deceased Master Richard Lausoun of Hieriggis." Richard Lawson of Heirigs * 1521–1525: James Wishart of Pittarrow * 1525–1527: Adam Otterburn of Reidhall * 1527–1533: John Foulis ''and'' Adam Otterburn of Reidhall * 1533–1538: Adam Otterburn ''and'' Henry Lauder * 1538–1561: Henry Lauder * Henry Balnaves, to

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

*Thomas Cumin, Lord of Session *1561:

John Spens of Condie, Lord Condie John Spens, Lord Condie (1520?–1573) was a Scottish lawyer and judge who became Lord Advocate. Life The son of James Spens of Condie and Joanna Arnot, he was born about 1520, and educated at St Salvator's College, St Andrews, where he became a ...

* Robert Crichton *1573–1582: David Borthwick of Lochhill * 1582–1589:

David Macgill David MacGill, McGill or Makgill, Lord Cranston Riddell (1532–1595) was a 16th-century Scottish judge and Senator of the College of Justice and Lord Advocate of Scotland from 1582 to 1595. Life He was born around 1532 in or near Edinburg ...

of Cranston-Riddell, and Nisbet * 1589–1594: John Skene * 1594: William Hart of Livelands * 1594–1595: Andrew Logie * 1595: Sir Thomas Hamilton ''and'' David Macgill * 1596–1612: Sir Thomas Hamilton * 1612–1626: Sir William Oliphant * 1626–1645: Sir Thomas Hope, Bt * 1646–?: Sir Archibald Johnston *Sir Thomas Nicholson *1659–1661: Sir Archibald Primrose * 1661–1664: Sir John Fletcher * 1664–1677: Sir John Nisbet * 1677–1687: Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh * 1687–1688: John Dalrymple * 1688–1689: Sir George Mackenzie * 1689–1692: John Dalrymple * 1692–1707: Sir James Stewart

Post-Union

* 1707–1709: Sir James Stewart * 1709–1711: Sir David Dalrymple, 1st Baronet * 1711–1713: Sir James Stewart (second time) * 1714: Thomas Kennedy of Dunure * 1714–1720: Sir David Dalrymple, 1st Baronet * 1720–1725: Robert Dundas the elder * 1725–1737: Duncan Forbes * 1737–1742: Charles Erskine * 1742–1746: Robert Craigie * 1746–1754:

William Grant William Grant may refer to: Politicians *Sir William Grant (Master of the Rolls) (1752–1832), Member of the Parliament, 1790–1812; Master of the Rolls, 1801–1817 *William Grant (Northern Ireland politician) (1883–1949), Unionist M.P. for ...

* 1754–1760: Robert Dundas the younger * 1760–1766: Thomas Miller * 1766–1775: James Montgomery * 1775–1783: Henry Dundas * 1783: Hon. Henry Erskine * 1783–1789:

Ilay Campbell Sir Ilay Campbell, 1st Baronet, Lord Succoth, (1734–1823) was a Scottish advocate, judge and politician. He rose to be Lord President of the Court of Session. Life Campbell's birthplace is given as either Argyll or Edinburgh. His mother was ...

* 1789–1801: Robert Dundas * 1801–1804: Charles Hope * 1804–1806: Sir James Montgomery, Bt * 1806–1807: Hon. Henry Erskine * 1807–1816:

Archibald Colquhoun Archibald Colquhoun may refer to: * Archibald Colquhoun (politician), Scottish politician and lawyer * Archibald Colquhoun (translator) Archibald Colquhoun (1912–1964) was a leading translator of modern Italian literature into English. He studied ...

* 1816–1819: Alexander Maconochie * 1819–1830:

Sir William Rae Sir William Rae, 3rd Baronet (14 April 1769 – 19 October 1842), was a Scottish politician and lawyer. Life He was born at Old Assembly Close off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, son of Margaret Stewart, youngest daughter of John Stewart of Blairh ...

* December 1830 – May 1834: Francis Jeffrey * May – November 1834: John Murray * December 1834 – April 1835: Sir William Rae * April 1835 – April 1839: John Murray * April 1839 – September 1841: Andrew Rutherfurd * September 1841 – October 1842: Sir William Rae * October 1842 – July 1846: Duncan McNeill * July 1846 – April 1851: Andrew Rutherfurd * April 1851 – February 1852: James Moncreiff * February – May 1852: Adam Anderson * May – December 1852: John Inglis * December 1852 – March 1858: James Moncreiff * March – July 1858: John Inglis * July 1858 – April 1859: Charles Baillie * April – June 1859:

David Mure David Mure (11 October 1810 – 11 April 1891) was a Scottish lawyer and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons from 1859 to 1865, when he became a judge. E ...

* June 1859 – July 1866: James Moncreiff * July 1866 – February 1867: George Patton * February 1867 – December 1868:

Edward Strathearn Gordon Edward Strathearn Gordon, Baron Gordon of Drumearn, (10 April 1814 – 21 August 1879) was a Scottish judge and politician. Early life and education Gordon was born on 10 April 1814. He was educated at Inverness Royal Academy, Royal High Sch ...

* December 1868 – October 1869: James Moncreiff * October 1869 – February 1874:

George Young George Young may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Young (filmmaker), Australian stage manager and film director in the silent era * George Young (rock musician) (1946–2017), Australian musician, songwriter, and record producer * Geor ...

* 1874–1876:

* July 1876 – April 1880: William Watson * May 1880 – August 1881: John McLaren * August 1881 – July 1885: John Blair Balfour * July 1885 – February 1886: John Macdonald * February – August 1886: John Blair Balfour * August 1886 – October 1888: John Macdonald * October 1888 – August 1891: James Patrick Bannerman Robertson * October 1891 – August 1892: Sir

Charles John Pearson Sir Charles John Pearson (6 November 1843 – 15 August 1910) was a Scottish politician and judge who rose to be a Senator of the College of Justice. Life He was born in Edinburgh on 6 November 1843. He was second son of Charles Pearson, cha ...

* August 1892 – July 1895: John Blair Balfour * July 1895 – May 1896: Sir

* May 1896 – October 1903: Andrew Graham Murray * October 1903 – December 1905: Charles Scott Dickson * December 1905 – February 1909:

Thomas Shaw Thomas Shaw is the name of: Politicians * Tom Shaw (politician) (1872–1938), British trade unionist and Labour Party politician * Thomas Shaw (Halifax MP) (1823–1893), English Liberal politician, MP for Halifax * Thomas Shaw, 1st Baron Craigmy ...

* February 1909 – October 1913: Alexander Ure * October 1913 – December 1916: Robert Munro * December 1916 – 1920: James Avon Clyde * 1920–1922: Thomas Brash Morison * March 1922 – November 1922: Charles David Murray * November 1922 – February 1924: William Watson * February 1924 – November 1924: Hugh Pattison MacMillan * November 1924 – May 1929: William Watson * May 1929 – June 1929: Alexander Munro MacRobert * June 1929 – 1933: Craigie Mason Aitchison * 1933–1935: Wilfrid Guild Normand * April 1935 – October 1935:

Douglas Jamieson Douglas Jamieson (14 April 1880 – 31 May 1952) was a Scottish Unionist politician and judge. Biography Jamieson was born on 14 April 1880 to Violet and William Jamieson, a merchant. Educated at Cargilfield School, Fettes College, the Unive ...

* 1935–1941:

Thomas Mackay Cooper Thomas Mackay Cooper, 1st Baron Cooper of Culross (24 September 1892 – 15 July 1956) was a Scottish Unionist Party politician, a judge and a historian, who had been appointed Lord Advocate of Scotland. Background and education Cooper was th ...

* 1941–1945:

James Scott Cumberland Reid James Scott Cumberland Reid, Baron Reid, (30 July 1890 – 29 March 1975) was a Scottish Unionist politician and judge. His reputation is as one of the most outstanding judges of the 20th century. Life He was born on 30 July 1890 in D ...

* 1945–1947: George Reid Thomson * 1947–1951: John Thomas Wheatley * 1951–1955: James Latham McDiarmid Clyde * 1955–1960: William Rankine Milligan * 1960–1962:

* 1962–1964: Ian Hamilton Shearer * 1964–1967: George Gordon Stott * 1967–1970: Henry Stephen Wilson * 1970–1974: Norman Russell Wylie * 1974–1979: Ronald King Murray * 1979–1984:

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 ...

* 1984–1989: Lord Cameron of Lochbroom * 1989–1992: Lord Fraser of Carmyllie * 1992–1995: Lord Rodger of Earlsferry * 1995–1997: Lord Mackay of Drumadoon

Post-Devolution

References

Sources

''The career path of recent Scottish law officers'', Scots Law Times'', 14 July 2006''

External links

Lord Advocate
on the Scottish Government website
Lord Advocate
on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service website {{authority control Scots law formal titles Lists of government ministers of the United Kingdom Lord Advocate Lists of office-holders in Scotland Region-specific legal occupations Law Officers of the Crown in the United Kingdom