From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scots law This article is part of the series: Courts of Scotland

Administration Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Justice Judicial Appointments Board Scottish Court Service College of Justice Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission Scottish Prison Service

Civil courts Privy Council House of Lords Court of Session Lord President Lords of Session Sheriff Court Sheriff

Criminal courts High Court of Justiciary Lord Justice-General Lords Commissioner of Justiciary Sheriff Court Sheriff Principal Sheriff District Court Justice of the Peace

Special courts Court of the Lord Lyon Lord Lyon King of Arms Children's Hearings

Criminal justice Lord Advocate Crown Office Advocate Depute Procurator Fiscal

Advocates and solicitors Faculty of Advocates Advocate Law Society of Scotland Solicitor-Advocate Solicitor

The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constituent part of the College of Justice and is based in Edinburgh.

Advocates are privileged to plead in any cause before any of the courts of Scotland, including the Sheriff Courts and District Courts, where counsel are not excluded by statute.

Contents 1 History 2 Organisation and Governance 2.1 Free Representation Unit 3 Current Membership 4 Advocates Library 4.1 Range of Materials 4.2 History of the Advocates Library 5 References 6 External links

The Faculty has existed since 1532 when the College of Justice was set up by Act of the Parliament of Scotland, but its origins are believed to predate that event.

The Faculty is led by its Dean, who is elected by the whole membership, supported by the Vice-Dean, Treasurer, Clerk, Keeper of the Library and Chairman of Faculty Services Ltd, all of whom are also elected. There is no standing council as with the Bar of England and Wales.

It is self-regulating, and the Court of Session delegates to the Faculty the task of preparing Intrants for admission as advocates. This task involves a process of examination and practical instruction known as devilling, during which intrants benefit from intensive structured training in the special skills of advocacy. No-one can be presented to the court as suitable to be a practising advocate without satisfying these training requirements. The Faculty also provides for its members an ongoing programme of talks, seminars and conferences covering a wide range of topics.

During the period of devilling, trainee Advocates carry out work for the Free Representation Unit. This is part of the Faculty's commitment to providing access to justice for everyone. The Free Representation Unit enables qualified persons to provide advice and representation to clients of Citizens Advice Bureau from across Scotland. (In order to devil a person has to first undergo a period of training in a solicitor's office.)

The Faculty includes practising and non-practising members. The current practising Bar includes an increasing proportion of women. Women make up approximately one quarter practising membership. Total numbers now stand at just over 460, of whom approximately one fifth are Queen's Counsel. The taking of Silk, as assumption of the title of Queen's Counsel is commonly known, depends upon the prerogative of Her Majesty. This is exercised through the First Minister upon the recommendation of the Lord Justice General. The Dean of Faculty is consulted in the course of this process. As a general rule, Silk is awarded to experienced Counsel, who are considered to have achieved distinction in full-time practice.

Main article: Advocates' Library

For more than 300 years, the Faculty has maintained within Parliament House the Advocates' Library, often regarded by the Faculty as the finest working law library in the United Kingdom.

A comprehensive range of materials has been built up over the last three hundred years, and a modern library management system utilising the latest technology, ensure that the Advocates Library is able to meet the increasingly complex needs of members of the Faculty of Advocates. In addition, the library's stock is made available to others via the National Library of Scotland.

The Library was formally inaugurated in 1689. From the start the collection was a general one. In 1709 the status of the collection was confirmed when Queen Anne's Copyright Act gave the Keeper of the Library the right to claim a copy of every book published in the British Isles. The collection was enhanced by purchase and donation, particularly of continental imprints and of manuscripts.

The Advocates Library came to be recognised as the natural depository for literary materials of national importance. By the 1850s the Library had become in effect Scotland's national library. In 1925 the National Library of Scotland was established when the Faculty gifted to the nation its whole non-law collections comprising 750,000 books, pamphlets, manuscripts, maps and sheet music. The Advocates Library has retained the copyright privilege for law publications.

In recent years the Advocates Library has expanded to take account of the increase in membership of the Faculty. Advances in technology have been embraced with the installation of a new library management system, incorporating an on-line catalogue, which further enhances the services the library is able to offer.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

• Official website