Charles III William, Duke of Rothesay Swinney government The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP Kate Forbes MSP Sixth session Alison Johnstone MSP Angela Constance MSP Dorothy Bain KC The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections Local elections Referendums Starmer ministry The Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (Scottish Gaelic: Morair Tagraidh), 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.

[2] 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.

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.

They issue general instructions for the guidance of Crown counsel, procurators fiscal, sheriff clerks and other public officials; transmit instructions from Crown counsel to procurators fiscal about prosecutions; and in consultation with the Clerk of Justiciary, arrange sittings of the High Court of Justiciary.

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.

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."