New Lord Advocate states pride in Scottish system

The professionalism of the Scottish prosecution service has been praised by the new Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC, in an address following his installation and that of Alison Di Rollo as Solicitor General for Scotland.

Mr Wolffe, who was Dean of the Faculty of Advocates until hois appointment, said that like his two immediate predecessors as Lord Advocate, Dame Elish Angiolini QC and Frank Mulholland QC, he was a professional lawyer with no party political affiliation.

“My fundamental personal and professional commitments are to the integrity of Scotland’s legal system, the maintenance of the rule of law and the sound administration of justice.

“Sustainable policy-making must be well founded in the law; and, as the Scottish Government’s senior law officer, I look forward to contributing actively to the good government of Scotland."

He continued: “I also head the prosecution service and the system of investigation of deaths in Scotland, and I exercise these functions independently of any other person. The effective, rigorous and fair prosecution of crime in the public interest underpins our freedom and security. It helps to keep our communities safe from crime, disorder and danger.

“The work of skilled and dedicated prosecutors, acting independently in the public interest, is essential to an effective criminal justice system – one which deals fairly with persons accused of crime, secures justice for the victims of crime, and punishes those who are convicted of crime. Scotland has good reason to be proud of its public prosecution service, and I am proud that I now lead that service.”

Mr Wolffe added that the offices of Lord Advocate and Solicitor General had been held by some of Scotland’s greatest lawyers, and he and Ms Di Rollo were acutely conscious of the trust which had been placed in them. They looked forward to fulfilling that trust.