Lord Advocate

His Majesty's Lord Advocate, known as the lord advocate (Scottish Gaelic: Fear-tagraidh), is the most senior law officer in Scotland, and one of the law officers of the Crown, serving as 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. It is the responsibility of the lord advocate to provide all and any legal advice to the Scottish Government on matters relating to government policy, legislation and legal implications of any proposals.

Additionally, 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. Additionally, 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 Ruth Charteris, who was nominated by First MinisterJohn Swinney in June 2026. 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.