Advocate General for Scotland

History

The office of Advocate General for Scotland was created in 1999 by the Scotland Act 1998 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 and Solicitor General for Scotland, who were transferred to the Scottish Government on the establishment of the Scottish Parliament. 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 as Baroness Clark of Calton. On 18 January 2006, Baroness Clark resigned to take up office as a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland.

The office was then vacant until 15 March of that year when, under section 87 of the Scotland Act 1998, its functions were temporarily conferred on the Secretary of State for Scotland, Alistair Darling MP, himself a Scottish advocate.

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, a former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, was appointed by the coalition government.

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, noting in his letter of resignation to Boris Johnson 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. Catherine Smith was appointed to the office and a life peerage by the Starmer government on 29 August 2024.

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.

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 (Scots law)
    • Head of Advisory & Legislation Division (Primary legislation, subordinate legislation, Scotland Act draft orders)
    • Head of HMRC Division

Notes

References

References

1. (December 2013). "List of Ministerial Responsibilities. Including Executive Agencies and Non-Ministerial Departments". Cabinet Office.
2. "Ministerial appointment: 29 August 2024".
3. {{Cite legislation UK. (1998). (19 November 1998)
4. "His Majesty's Government: The Cabinet - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament".
5. {{Cite legislation UK. (1998). (19 November 1998)
6. (2024-09-05). "Office of the Advocate General for Scotland".
7. (2021-08-16). "Lord Advocate".
8. (2026-01-06). "Lord Advocate". Wikipedia.
9. "Baroness Clark of Calton". UK Parliament.
10. "Lord Davidson of Glen Clova". UK Parliament.
11. "Lord Wallace of Tankerness". UK Parliament.
12. "Lord Keen of Elie". UK Parliament.
13. "Keith Stewart QC".
14. (15 October 2020). "Keith Stewart QC appointed Advocate General for Scotland". Holyrood Magazine.
15. (15 October 2020). "Keith Stewart QC to be next Advocate General for Scotland". Scottish Legal News.
16. (2024-08-29). "Labour hand life peerage and top Scottish law role to party dynast".
17. (29 May 2015). "Advocate General for Scotland appointed". Government of the United Kingdom.
18. (16 September 2020). "Lord Keen: Senior law officer quits over Brexit bill row".
19. (15 October 2020). "UK government appoints QC as new Scots law chief". BBC News.
20. "Organization chart". Office of the Advocate General.