Devolution issues and acts of the Lord Advocate – an informal consultation
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Please note that this consultation is now closed. Responses to the consultation and the report of the Expert Group can be found here.
The Advocate General's response to the report can be found here.
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An informal consultation concerning the way in which acts of the Lord Advocate in her capacity as head of the system of prosecutions might give rise to devolution issues under the Scotland Act was announced today (24 September 2010).
This is an issue which the recent Calman Commission considered, but on which they did not consider it appropriate to make any recommendation. The Commission recognised that this matter gives rise to important issues affecting prosecutions in Scotland. Indeed, they received concerned comment from the Judiciary in the Court of Session on its effect in practice. The Commission considered, however, that it gave rise to issues beyond its remit and concluded, therefore, that it would be inappropriate to make recommendations in that regard.
The Advocate General has now established a group of experts to consider this issue afresh, to assess the extent to which it causes problems in practice for the courts and the operation of the criminal justice system and to make recommendations in relation to any reform which the group considers appropriate.
The Expert Group is comprised as follows:
- Sir David Edward KCMG, QC (Chairman)
- The Rt Hon Lord Boyd of Duncansby QC
- Professor Tom Mullen (University of Glasgow)
- Frances McMenamin QC
- Paul McBride QC
In order to inform the Expert Group’s deliberations, the Advocate General also wishes to conduct a short, informal, focused consultation with representative bodies and other interested parties on the matters it raises. A short paper on the issue is available 
here. We would be grateful to receive any views that your organisation, or any interested colleagues, have on the issues raised in the paper by Friday 22 October. Any comments may be sent to the e-mail or postal address given at the end of the paper.
here. We would be grateful to receive any views that your organisation, or any interested colleagues, have on the issues raised in the paper by Friday 22 October. Any comments may be sent to the e-mail or postal address given at the end of the paper.