The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court,the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Court building in the Old Town in Edinburgh,or in dedicated buildings in Glasgow and Aberdeen. The High Court sometimes sits in various smaller towns in Scotland,where it uses the local sheriff court building. As an appeal court,the High Court sits only in Edinburgh. On one occasion the High Court of Justiciary sat outside Scotland,at Zeist in the Netherlands during the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial,as the Scottish Court in the Netherlands. At Zeist the High Court sat both as a trial court,and an appeal court for the initial appeal by Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.
His Majesty's Advocate,known as the Lord Advocate,is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament. They are the chief public prosecutor for Scotland and all prosecutions on indictment are conducted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in the Lord Advocate's name on behalf of the Monarch.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland,and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate,who under the Scottish legal system is responsible for prosecution,along with the area procurators fiscal. In Scotland,virtually all prosecution of criminal offences is undertaken by the Crown. Private prosecutions are extremely rare.
Colin Boyd,Baron Boyd of Duncansby,is a Scottish judge who has been a Senator of the College of Justice since June 2012. He was Lord Advocate for Scotland from 24 February 2000 until his resignation on 4 October 2006. On 11 April 2006,Downing Street announced that Colin Boyd would take a seat as a crossbench life peer;however,he took the Labour whip after resigning as Lord Advocate. He was formally introduced in the House of Lords on 3 July 2006. On the day SNP leader Alex Salmond was elected First Minister of Scotland,it was reported that Boyd was quitting the Scottish Bar to become a part-time consultant with public law solicitors,Dundas &Wilson. He told the Glasgow Herald,"This is a first. I don't think a Lord Advocate has ever done this—left the Bar and become a solicitor."
Lady Elish Frances Angiolini is a Scottish solicitor. She was the lord advocate of Scotland from 2006 until 2011,having previously been solicitor general since 2001. She was the first woman,the first procurator fiscal,and the first solicitor to hold either post. Since September 2012,Angiolini has been the principal of St Hugh's College,Oxford. She has been a pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford since 2017 and is an Honorary Professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She also served as Chancellor of University of the West of Scotland from 2013 to 2021. Since leaving office she has led several investigations and inquiries,including a review of deaths in police custody commissioned by the then-Home Secretary Theresa May. In June 2022,she was appointed a Lady of the Order of the Thistle by Queen Elizabeth II;she is currently the only non-royal woman appointed to the order. In June 2023,she was appointed to the office of Lord Clerk Register by King Charles III,the first woman to hold the role since its creation in the 13th century.
A procurator fiscal,sometimes called PF or fiscal,is a public prosecutor in Scotland,who has the power to impose fiscal fines. They investigate all sudden and suspicious deaths in Scotland,conduct fatal accident inquiries and handle criminal complaints against the police. They also receive reports from specialist reporting agencies such as His Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
Arthur Campbell Hamilton,Lord Hamilton,,is a Scottish judge and served as Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session from November 2005 until 8 June 2012,succeeding Lord Cullen.
Events from the year 2006 in Scotland.
John Beckett,Lord Beckett is a Scottish lawyer who was appointed in 2016 as a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Court of Session.
Alastair Peter Campbell,Lord Bracadale is a retired senior Scottish judge.
The World's End Murders is the colloquial name given to the murder of two girls,Christine Eadie,17,and Helen Scott,17,in Edinburgh,in October 1977. The case is so named because both victims were last seen alive leaving The World's End pub in Edinburgh's Old Town. The only person to stand trial accused of the murders,Angus Sinclair,was acquitted in 2007 in controversial circumstances. Following the amendment of the law of double jeopardy,which would have prevented his retrial,Sinclair was retried in October 2014 and convicted of both murders on 14 November 2014. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 37 years,the longest sentence by a Scottish court,meaning he would have been 106 years old when he was eligible for a potential release on parole. He died at HM Prison Glenochil aged 73 on 11 March 2019. Coincidentally,he died on the same day the BBC's Crimewatch Roadshow programme profiled the murders.
William Austin Nimmo Smith is a former Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland,sitting in the High Court of Justiciary and the Inner House of the Court of Session. He retired from this position on 30 September 2009.
Matthew Gerard Clarke,Lord Clarke,PC (born was a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland,sitting in the High Court of Justiciary and the Inner House of the Court of Session.
Dorothy Ruth Bain is a Scottish advocate who has served as Lord Advocate since 2021. She is the second woman to hold the office after Lady Elish Angiolini KC. Bain previously served as the Principal Advocate Depute from 2009 to 2011,the first woman to hold the prosecutorial position in Scotland.
Lesley Thomson is a Scottish lawyer who served as the Solicitor General for Scotland from 2011 to 2016. She was appointed to the office on 19 May 2011,after the Scottish Parliament election,succeeding Frank Mulholland who was promoted to Lord Advocate.
William Ian Stewart,Lord Allanbridge was a Scottish lawyer,judge and politician,who served as Solicitor General for Scotland,the country's junior Law Officer from 1972 to 1974,and as a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland,from 1977 to 1995.
John Millar,Lord Craighill (1817–1888) was a Scottish lawyer and judge. He served two brief terms as Solicitor General for Scotland and in 1874 was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice.
Alison Di RolloKC (née Lafferty) is a Scottish advocate who served as Solicitor General for Scotland from 2016 to 2021.
Sean Smith,Lord Harrower is a Scottish judge who has been a Senator of the College of Justice since February 2020.
