Law officers sworn in before massed judges

The new Lord Advocate, James Wolffe, QC, and Solicitor General for Scotland, Alison Di Rollo, have been sworn in at ceremonies in Parliament House.

A bench of 15 Court of Session judges sat as the Lord President, Lord Carloway, administered the oath of allegiance and the official oath, and invited the Lord Advocate to take his seat at the table within the well of the court, on the right side, and the Solicitor General to take her seat on the left side.

Lord Carloway said: “Lord Advocate, you already have a distinguished career at the bar, notably as Dean of the Faculty, with a particular reputation in civil litigation. But you bring with you your experience as an advocate depute.

“Solicitor General, you too have a distinguished career, and bring to the post your many years in the Crown Office, from the days even before devolution and more recently also as an advocate depute, with particular involvement in the National Sexual Crimes Unit.

“The court has also been undergoing considerable changes in personnel recently. I hope that notwithstanding the changes, the Crown Office will retain its faith in the integrity, skills and ability of the judges as we do have confidence in both of you to maintain the high standards of the Crown Office in both the civil and criminal spheres.

“The roles which you have taken on are challenging ones but they are great offices, which will give you significant personal and professional fulfilment in the coming years.”

A further ceremony took place in the High Court, court 3, with a three-judge bench and Lord Carloway in his criminal robes as Lord Justice General.

Arrangements for the election of a new Dean of Faculty will be announced in due course.