What is the role of the Lord Advocate in Scotland?
What is the role of the Lord Advocate in Scotland?
The Lord Advocate is the senior Scottish Law Officer. He or she is head of the systems for the prosecution of crime and investigation of deaths in Scotland; and exercises those functions independently of any other person. All prosecutions on indictment run in the Lord Advocate’s name.
How is the Lord Advocate selected?
Lord Advocate He is the senior of the two Law Officers, along with the Solicitor General for Scotland. Both are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the First Minister, with the agreement of the Scottish Parliament.
Is the Lord Advocate a member of the Scottish Cabinet?
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.
What is an advocate Scotland?
Advocates specialise in the preparation and presentation of a case in court; mostly at the High Court of Justiciary and the Court of Session. They also provide legal advice. Advocates receive cases from solicitors who require their client to be represented in court.
What are the other duties of an advocate depute?
Advocates Depute prosecute cases in the High Court, appear on behalf of the Crown in the criminal Appeal Court, make decisions about Fatal Accident Inquiries, and also assist and provide legal advice to the Procurators Fiscal on issues of complexity or sensitivity.
Who appoints the advocate?
The Governor of the State
The Office of the Advocate General is a constitutional office created under Article 165 of the Constitution of India. The Governor of the State appoints a person who is qualified to be appointed as a judge of the High Court as Advocate General of the State.
Who is the Lord Advocate accountable to?
The Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General are to be accountable to the legislature in Edinburgh rather than London. Even prior to 1998 there were difficulties with this compromise.
How much does an advocate depute earn?
Advocates based in the Procurator Fiscal Service as Advocate Depute can earn in the region of around £88,000 to £138,000 a year. Trained lawyers working for the Government Legal Service for Scotland (GLSS) can earn £47,000 a year, rising to around £58,000 a year with experience.
How do you qualify as an advocate?
It can be in Law or a different subject, followed by a Law conversion course or graduate Law degree. After the degree, specific vocational qualifications and in-work training is required to practise as a barrister or advocate. The in-work training needed to qualify is highly competitive.
How much does an advocate earn in Scotland?
Qualified advocates typically earn £25,000–£35,000; this figure increases with experience to £50,000 or more. After 13 years an advocate can ‘take silk’ as a Queen’s Counsel (QC) and can then expect to earn significantly more.
What is the difference between an advocate and a QC?
A Queen’s Counsel is an advocate appointed by the monarch to be one of ‘Her Majesty’s Counsel learned in the law’ or a King’s Counsel (KC) when the monarch is male. Before 1995, only barristers could be appointed as a QC but the system was changed so that solicitors could too.
Who can be an advocate?
Friends, family or carers can be an advocate for you, if you want them to. It can be really helpful to get support from someone close to you, who you trust.
The Lord Advocate, also known as Her Majesty’s Advocate, is the senior Scottish Law Officer. The following are the Lord Advocate’s main functions: head of the systems for the investigation and prosecution of crime and investigation of deaths. principal legal adviser to the Scottish Government.
Who is the senior law officer in Scotland?
The Lord Advocate, also known as Her Majesty’s Advocate, is the senior Scottish Law Officer. All prosecutions on indictment run in the name of the Lord Advocate.
Why does the SNP government have a Lord Advocate?
THE SNP Government has been accused of breaking its promise on depoliticising the role of Lord Advocate after the country’s top law officer attended nearly 75 per cent of Cabinet meetings.
Why did First Minister Salmond appoint Lord Advocate?
The Lord Advocate has a dual role of heading the prosecution system and, separately, providing legal advice to ministers. In 2007, First Minister Salmond believed there needed to be distance between the legal aspects of the Lord Advocate’s job and the political side of Government .