His Majesty's Lord Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is one of the law officers of the Crown, and is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament. The Lord Advocate provides legal advice to the government on its responsibilities, policies, legislation and advising on the legal implications of any proposals brought forward by the government. The Lord Advocate is responsible for all legal advice which is given to the Scottish Government.

The Lord Advocate serves as the ministerial head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and as such, is the chief public prosecutor for Scotland with all prosecutions on indictment being conducted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in the Lord Advocate's name on behalf of the Monarch. The Lord Advocate serves as the head of the systems of prosecutions in Scotland and is responsible for the investigation of all sudden, suspicious, accidental and unexplained deaths which occur within Scotland.

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. The Lord Advocate is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the incumbent First Minister of Scotland, with the agreement of the Scottish Parliament.

History

The office of Advocate to the monarch is an ancient one. The first recorded Lord Advocate was Sir John Ross of Montgreenan, who is formally mentioned in 1483. At that time the post-holder was generally referred to as the "King's Advocate" and not until the year 1573 was the term "Lord Advocate" first used.

From 1707 to 1998, the Lord Advocate was the chief legal adviser to the British Government and the Crown on Scottish legal matters, both civil and criminal, until the Scotland Act 1998 devolved most domestic affairs to the Scottish Parliament. His Majesty's Government is now advised on Scots law by the Advocate General for Scotland.

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

Cabinet role

Until devolution in 1999, all Lords Advocate were, by convention, members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords to allow them to speak for the government. Those who were not already members of either house received a life peerage on appointment. Since 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. From 1999–2007, 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.

The Lord Advocate attends meetings of the Scottish cabinet on request by government ministers, and is permitted to view all cabinet papers in advance of meetings of the cabinet. If the Scottish cabinet is discussing matters relating to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal service, the Lord Advocate, or the Solicitor General of Scotland, will often be in attendance at cabinet meetings as a representative of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal service. Wider accountability of the Lord Advocate is an important aspect of the role, and whilst not an MSP, the Lord Advocate is entitled to engage in parliamentary proceedings but is not entitled to vote on legislation proposed by the parliament as they are not an elected incumbent MSP.

The Lord Advocate is the principal legal advisor to the Scottish Government, and is responsible for advising the government on legislative competence of Scottish legislation, general legal issues as well as having responsibility for the provision of legal advice to the Scottish Government.

List of lords advocate

thumb|[[Sir James Stewart (Lord Advocate)|Sir James Stewart, Lord Advocate 1692–1707, the last Lord Advocate of the Kingdom of Scotland prior to the Acts of Union]]

Pre-Union

  • June 1478 (or earlier) – May 1485 or 1494: John Ross of Montgrenan
  • Mar 1491 – Feb 1493: David Balfour of Carraldstoun Richard Lawson of Heirigs (jointly with Henryson? )
  • Oct 1513 – Nov 1524: James Wishart of Pittarrow
  • 1533–1538: Adam Otterburn and Henry Lauder of St. Germains (jointly)
  • Sep 1538–1555: Henry Lauder of St. Germains
  • before Feb 1560-1573: John Spens of Condie and Robert Crichton of Eliok (jointly)
  • Oct 1573-1581 Robert Crichton of Eliok and David Borthwick of Lochhill (jointly)
  • Jun 1582–1589: David Macgill of Cranston-Riddell, and Nisbet
  • Aug 1589 – Sep 1594: David MacGill and John Skene of Curriehill (jointly)
  • Oct 1594 - 1596 : David MacGill and William Hart of Livielands (jointly)
  • Jan 1596 - 1597: William Hart of Livielands and Sir Thomas Hamilton of Drumcairnie (jointly)
  • 1597-May 1612 Sir Thomas Hamilton of Drumcairnie
  • Jun 1612 – May 1626: Sir William Oliphant of Newton
  • May 1626 - Apr 1628: Sir William Oliphant and Sir Thomas Hope of Craighall (jointly)
  • Apr 1628– Oct 1646: Sir Thomas Hope, 1st Baronet of Craighall
  • Oct 1646– Mar 1649: Sir Archibald Johnston of Warriston
  • February 1909 – October 1913: Alexander Ure
  • October 1913 – December 1916: Robert Munro
  • December 1916 – 1920: James 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 Aitchison
  • 1933–1935: Wilfrid Normand
  • April 1935 – October 1935: Douglas Jamieson
  • 1935–1941: Thomas Cooper
  • 1941–1945: James Scott Cumberland Reid
  • 1945–1947: George Thomson
  • 1947–1951: John Wheatley
  • 1951–1955: James Clyde
  • 1955–1960: William Rankine Milligan
  • 1960–1962: William Grant
  • 1962–1964: Ian Shearer
  • 1964–1967: George Stott
  • 1967–1970: Henry Wilson
  • 1970–1974: Norman Wylie
  • 1974–1979: Ronald Murray
  • 1979–1984: James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern
  • 1984–1989: Kenneth Cameron, Baron Cameron of Lochbroom
  • 1989–1992: Peter Fraser, Baron Fraser of Carmyllie
  • 1992–1995: Alan Rodger, Baron Rodger of Earlsferry
  • 1995–1997: Donald Mackay, Baron Mackay of Drumadoon

Post-Devolution

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! colspan=2 |Lord Advocate

! Term

! Nominated by

! Solicitor General

|- style="height:1em"

| 95px

|Andrew Hardie

| 1997–2000

| rowspan=3 | Donald Dewar

| Colin Boyd

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 | 127x127px

| rowspan=2 | Colin Boyd

| rowspan=2 | 2000–2006

| Neil Davidson

|- style="height:1em"

| Elish Angiolini

|- style="height:1em"

| rowspan=2 | 127x127px

| rowspan=2 | Elish Angiolini

| rowspan=2 | 2006–2011

| rowspan=2 | Jack McConnell

| John Beckett

|- style="height:1em"

| Frank Muholland

|- style="height:1em"

| 95px

|Frank Muholland

| 2011–2016

| Alex Salmond

| Lesley Thomson

|- style="height:1em"

| 95px

|James Wolffe

| 2016–2021

| rowspan=2 | Nicola Sturgeon

| Alison Di Rollo

|- style="height:1em"

| 127x127px

|Dorothy Bain

| 2021–present

| Ruth Charteris

|}

See also

  • Lord Advocate's Reference
  • Law Officers of the Crown
  • Attorney General for England and Wales
  • Attorney General for Northern Ireland

References

Sources

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

  • Lord Advocate on the Scottish Government website
  • Lord Advocate on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service website