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Advocate

Advocate

:This article is about legal advocates. For political advocates see advocacy. An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another, especially in a legal context. Implicit in the concept is the notion that the represented lacks the knowledge, skill, ability, or standing to speak for themselves. Common advocates include lawyers, solicitors and barristers.

Scotland

Advocates are counsel who are members of the Faculty of Advocates who are licensed to present cases in the Supreme Courts of Scotland (the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary). Advocates wear wigs, white bow-ties, and gowns as dress in court. Advocates are members of and are regulated by the Faculty of Advocates. These are similar to "barristers" in England.

Faculty of Advocates

In Scotland, Advocates are regulated by the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh. The Faculty of Advocates has about 750 members, of whom about 460 are in private practice. About 75 are Queen's Counsel. The Faculty is headed by the Dean of the Faculty who, along with the Vice-Dean, Treasurer, Clerk are elected annually by secret ballot. The Faculty has a service company, Faculty Services Ltd, to which almost all advocates belong and which organises the stables and fee collection. This gives a guarantee to all newly-called advocates of a place. There is an agreement with the Law Society of Scotland, which is the professional body for Scottish solicitors, about the payment of fees, as traditionally advocates were not permitted to sue for their fees because these were honoraria.

Independent Working

Advocates do not operate in chambers; they are entirely independent, although organised in eleven 'stables' for administrative purposes, and work out of the Advocates Library in Parliament House where the Scottish supreme courts (the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary) are situated, in a similar way to barristers in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. They do not act directly for members of the public, taking instructions from a solicitor, a non-Scottish lawyer, or another professional.

Becoming an Advocate

The process of becoming an Advocate is referred to as devilling. All Intrants will hold an LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) and the Diploma in Legal Practice qualifying them as solicitors or be members of the Bar in another common law jurisdiction.

Devilling

Devilling, as the period of pupillage or training to become an advocate is generally known, lasts between eight and nine months, and comprises a mix of skills training courses and time spent working with a devilmaster. The compulsory skills training courses, are spread across the devilling period and last for about ten weeks in total. For the balance of the period of devilling, devils work closely with their devilmasters. All devils have a principal devilmaster who is a practising member of the junior bar of at least seven years standing, and working primarily in civil practice. Devils will also spend part of the time with another devilmaster practising in the criminal courts, and many devils spend a short period of time with a third devilmaster working in a different aspect of civil work from his or her principal devilmaster. All devils and devilmasters are issued with the current edition of the Faculty's Devil's Handbook. In order to take a devil, a devilmaster must be approved by the Dean of Faculty. The Clerk of Faculty maintains a list of approved devilmasters, who may be contacted by email or via the Clerk's office. Devils are expected to attend court with their devilmasters, and to attend consultations with solicitors instructing their devilmaster and with the solicitors' clients. A devil will also discuss the preparation and presentation of the cases in which their devilmaster is involved and will be required to draft written pleadings and opinions. During the period of devilling, devils also 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 devils to provide advice and representation to clients of Citizens Advice Bureau from across Scotland.

Admission to the Faculty of Advocates

At the end of the devilling period, a devil's admission to the Faculty is dependent on certification by his or her principal devilmaster that the devil is a fit and proper person to be an advocate, and that the devil has been involved in a wide range of work in the course of his or her devilling. A devil's competence in a number of aspects of written and oral advocacy is assessed during devilling, and if a devil is assessed as not to be competent, he or she will not be admitted to the Faculty. Further details of this process can be found in the assessment section.

Recent Developments

In recent years, more Advocates have come to the Scottish Bar after some time as solicitors, but it is possible to qualify with a law degree, after a year's traineeship in a solicitor's office and almost a year as a 'devil', or apprentice advocate. There are exceptions for lawyers who are qualified in other European jurisdictions, but all must take the training course as devils. Every year, a number of young European lawyers have a placement with advocates under the European Young Lawyers Scheme organised by the British Council. They are known as 'Eurodevils' in distinction to the Scottish 'devils'.

Professional Development

Since the Faculty began to offer skills training to devils and members in 1994, the programme, particularly for devils has developed extensively and continues to evolve, and is now recognised as one of the best in the world. Members of Faculty have regularly travelled to the United States, Australia, South Africa, England and Ireland to take part in advocacy training events, while the Faculty has welcomed leading advocacy instructors from those countries to Scotland. Every member admitted to the Faculty since 1995 has undertaken some form of skills training. In addition periodic skills workshops are arranged for practising members, so that the majority of the practising Bar has now undertaken skills training. The Faculty's training programme is built on the experience and commitment of practising members who have been trained as skills instructors, both in Scotland and in other places. Over the life of the programme so far more than 60 members have been trained as instructors, and they give freely of their time and experience to train new generations of advocates. Lawyers in other EU states (but not England and Wales) may have limited rights of audience in the Scottish supreme courts if they appear with an advocate, and a few solicitors known as 'solicitor-advocates' have rights of audience, but for practical purposes advocates have almost exclusive rights of audience.

Some Well-Known Advocates

Some well known Scottish advocates are John Balfour, Alexander Boswell, James Boswell, David Dalrymple, Henry Home and Alexander Wedderburn.

Advocates in Other Jurisdictions

In England and Wales Advocates were counsel in the ecclesiastical courts.

External links

- [http://www.advocates.org.uk - The Faculty of Advocates official website]
- [http://www.childadvocate.net/ The Child Advocate Network] Category:Legal occupations Category:Scottish law Category:Professions

Advocacy

:This article is about political advocacy. For legal advocacy see advocate. Advocacy is an umbrella term for organized activism related to a particular set of issues. Advocacy is expected to be non-deceptive and in good faith, though it is sometimes tainted by use of propaganda. It is almost always organized into or by an advocacy group or special interests. In other instances, an individual may act as a lobbyist, on their own account, or on behalf of a corporation or industry.

Issue advocacy

Issue advocacy is any speech relating to issues and the policy positions taken by political candidates and elected officials. Any group or individual can engage in issue advocacy. It can be as simple as a single statement, or it can be as involved as a multi-million dollar campaign of broadcast and print advertisements spreading the same message. A message stops being issue advocacy if it expressly endorses the election or defeat of a candidate (See also single-issue politics). Examples of advocacy in the computing world include operating system advocacy and open source advocacy.

Astroturfing

:For main article, see Astroturfing The term astroturfing pejoratively describes formal public relations projects which deliberately seek to engineer the impression of spontaneous, grassroots behavior, sometimes through the use of front organizations. The goal is the appearance of independent public reaction to a politician, political group, product, service, event, etc., by centrally orchestrating the behavior of many diverse and geographically distributed individuals.

Effectiveness compared to direct action

In 2004, a study by University of Washington sociologist Jon Agnone, compared the number of bills passed between 1960 and 1994 by the U.S. Congress with tactics used by 'green' groups within the same year. The study showed each protest raised the number of pro-environment bills passed by 2.2%, whereas neither efforts at conventional lobbying on Capitol Hill nor aimed at affecting the state of public opinion made any difference. The study concluded that direct action, like protests at public venues or disrupting political events, is more likely to influence environmental policy than talking to politicians.

Specific types of advocacy

- Abortion rights
- Child advocacy
- Consumer protection
- Cycling advocacy
- Psychiatric survivors movement

Solicitor

A solicitor is a type of lawyer in many common law jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland and some States of Australia. In these systems the legal profession is divided into two kinds of lawyer: solicitors who contact and advise clients and have limited rights of audience in court, and barristers or advocates who argue cases in every court. In cases where a trial is necessary a client has to hire a solicitor, who will advise him or her and then may retain a barrister on his or her behalf.

England and Wales

Before the unification of the Supreme Court in 1873, solicitors practised in the court of Chancery, while attorneys and proctors practised in the common law and ecclesiastical courts respectively. In the English legal system solicitors have traditionally dealt with any legal matter apart from the conducting proceedings in court (advocacy). The other branch of the English legal profession, a barrister, has traditionally carried out that function and advised on complex areas of law. Barristers would not deal with the public direct.

Regulation

Solicitors in England and Wales are regulated by the Law Society of England and Wales (which wears the hat of both regulator and union) and in order to become a solicitor must have had a qualifying legal education. Moreover, solicitors must pay the Law Society of England and Wales a practising fee each year in order to keep practising. If they do not do this they are 'non-practising' and may not give legal advice to the public (although they can start practising again at will, unlike those struck off).

Training and qualifications

The most common methods of qualification are a normal undergraduate law degree (a Bachelor of Laws, or 'LLB'), or a degree in any subject followed by a one year course formerly called the Common Professional Exam and recently renamed the Postgraduate Diploma in Law. Other routes, for example spending time as a clerk to magistrates, or passing exams set by the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) are possible. Up to this point a barrister and solicitor have the same education. Thereafter they split. Solicitors study a one year course called the Legal Practice Course and then must undertake two years apprenticeship with a solicitor, called the training contract (but still widely referred to as 'articles' as in 'articled clerk' by older members of the profession). Once that is complete, the student becomes a solicitor and is 'admitted to the roll'. The 'roll' is a list of people qualified to be a solicitor and is kept on behalf of the 'Master of the Rolls' whose more important job is that he is the head of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Solicitors who are being disciplined by the Law Society can be suspended from the roll or even struck off, which prevents them acting as a solicitor.

Recent Developments

In England and Wales the strict separation between the duties of solicitor and barrister has been partially broken down and solicitors frequently appear not only in the lower courts but (subject to passing a test) increasingly in the higher courts too (such as the High Court of Justice of England and Wales and the Court of Appeal). Firms of solicitors now employ their own barristers and solicitor-advocates to do the work, taking it away from the private groups 'sets' or 'chambers' of barristers who formerly did the work. Barristers in turn can now be directly instructed by certain organisations such as trade unions. This breakdown is expected to go further in the next few years, with the government pressing the Bar Council to allow barristers to deal directly with the public. Despite the numerous anecdotal claims that solicitors are increasingly taking advantage of increased rights of audience, this does not seem to be reflected in practice, with both arms of the legal profession thriving in recent years. Regulation of both Barristers and Solicitors is being reviewed by David Clementi on behalf of the Department for Constitutional Affairs. His final recommendations are expected to include a more unified regulatory system, and new structures for cross-profession work. Category:Legal occupations Category:Professions Category:United Kingdom law

Scotland

Scotland's legal system is separate from the rest of the United Kingdom. In Scotland the legal profession is divided between solicitors and advocates. Solicitors are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland and ordinarily are required to hold an LLB in Scots law or its equivalent. After their initial education prospective solicitors are required to take the Diploma in Legal Practice, register with and pay an annual fee to the Law Society of Scotland.

Republic of Ireland

Following the establishment of the Irish Free State many of the features of the England and Wales legal system were continued in the new state. The legal profession remained divided between barristers and solicitors. The Law Society of Ireland was established by the Solicitors Act of 1954 to be the representative and regulatory body for all Solicitors in Ireland. The Law Society of Ireland is also, under the various Acts of the Oireachtas which govern it, the sole training body for Solicitors in the Republic of Ireland. In recent years, legal changes have also greatly eroded the traditional boundaries between Solicitors and Barristers, with many Solciitors choosing to represent their clients in all Courts.

Australia

Regulation of the profession in Australia varies from state to state. Admission to practice is state-based, although mutual recognition enables a practitioner admitted in any state to practice nationally. Generally, the distinction between barristers and solicitors is nominal and reflects individual preferences and membership of professional associations. Thus, while members of the bar practice only as barristers, a practitioner is admitted as a "barrister and solicitor". Thus, every solicitor is also a barrister, although many prefer to brief counsel rather than appear in courts or tribunals themselves. The trend to a fused profession is similar to that outlined in England and Wales above.

Personal Injury

Injuries that occur to an individual are generally (in the UK) termed Personal Injuries, they can occur in any number of ways such as car accidents, a slip and fall incident, a dog bite, a boating accident and many more. In the past ten years, since legal aid for Personal Injury cases was abolished in England and Wales and replaced with "no win, no fee" options, hundreds of companies have sprung up offering services. However, most ask the claimant to purchase insurance to cover fees in the event of the claim not being successful.

External links

- [http://www.lawsociety.org.uk Law Society of England and Wales]
- [http://solicitors.webstreet.co.uk/solicitors.htm List of Solicitors in England and Wales]
- [http://www.apil.com Association of Personal Injury Layers]
- [http://www.scotlaw.org.uk Law Society of Scotland]
- Solicitor Category:Legal occupations Solicitor Category:Scottish law

Counsel

A counsel or a counsellor gives advice, more particularly in legal matters. The legal system in England uses the term counsel as a synonym for a barrister-at-law, and may apply it to mean either a single person who pleads a cause, or collectively, the body of barristers engaged in a case. The legal term counsellor, or, more fully, counsellor-at-law, became practically obsolete in England, but continued in use locally in Ireland as an equivalent to barrister, where a Senior Counsel (S.C.) is equivalent to the English QC or KC. In the United States of America, the term counsellor-at-law designates, specifically, an attorney admitted to practice in all courts of law; but as the United States legal system makes no formal division of the legal profession into two classes, as in England, most US citizens use the term loosely in the same sense as lawyer, meaning one who versed in (or practising) law.

References

Faculty of Advocates

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. 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.

History

The Faculty has been in existence 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.

Organisation and Governance

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 in England. 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.

Free Representation Unit

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.)

Current Membership

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.

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.

Range of Materials

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.

History of the Advocates Library

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.

References

External links

- [http://www.advocates.org.uk/ - Faculty of Advocates official website] Category:Scottish law

Scotland

Scotland (Alba in Gaelic) is a nation in northwest Europe and a constituent country of the United Kingdom. The name originally meant Land of the Gaels (see below). The country occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shares a land border to the south with England and is bounded by the North Sea on the east and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. Its capital city is Edinburgh. Despite no longer being an independent sovereign state, Scotland is still considered a country in its own right. Scotland existed as an independent Kingdom until 1 May 1707, when the Act of Union 1707 merged Scotland with the Kingdom of England to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. The flag of Scotland — the Saltire — is thought to be the oldest national flag still in use. The patron saint of Scotland is Saint Andrew, and Saint Andrew's Day is the 30 November. There are currently attempts to create an additional national holiday on this day.

Etymology

The English language name Scotland could date from at least the first half of the 10th century, when it was used in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The word Scot- was borrowed from Latin. We cannot assume Scotland was being used here to mean anything other than Land of the Gaels, just like Latin Scotia. Scottish kings adopted the title Basileus/Rex Scottorum (= High King/King of the Gaels) and Rex Scotiae (King of Gael-Land) some time in the 11th century. The earliest attribution of the latter Latin title was by the Germany-based Irish writer Marianus Scotus, recording the death of King Máel Coluim mac Cináeda as Moelcoluim Rex Scotiae, for the year 1034. In taking this title, they were likely influenced by the style Imperator Scottorum known to have been employed by Brian Bóruma in 1005. In the early 13th century, the Scotto-Norman author of de Situ Albanie protested that Scotia was a corrupt word for what should be called Albania; but by then Scotia was becoming the norm in Latin, French and English; and hence Scotia and its derivitives prevailed in all languages except the Celtic ones. The Kingdom of Scotland has traditionally been regarded as being united in 843, by Cináed mac Ailpín, King of the Picts, the man who is known to the modern English-speaker as King Kenneth I of Scotland.

History

See also the main article: History of Scotland. The written history of Scotland largely began with the arrival of the Roman Empire in Britain, when the Romans occupied what is now England and Wales, administering it as a Roman province called Britannia. To the north was territory not governed by the Romans—Caledonia, peopled by the Picts. From a classical historical viewpoint Scotland seemed a peripheral country, slow to gain advances filtering out from the Mediterranean fount of civilisation, but as knowledge of the past increases it has become apparent that some developments were earlier and more advanced than previously thought, and that the seaways were very important to Scottish history. The country's lengthy struggle with England, its more powerful neighbour to the south, was the cause of the Wars of Scottish Independence, forcing Scotland to rely on trade, cultural and often strategic ties with a number of European powers, most notably France. In these, the Scots repudiated the English king's assertions of paramountcy. They fought firstly under the leadership of Sir William Wallace and Andrew de Moray in support of John Balliol, and later under that of Robert the Bruce. Bruce, crowned as King Robert I in 1306, won a decisive victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Battle of Bannockburn From roughly the end of the 14th century, Scotland began to show a split into two cultural areas — the mainly Scots, or English, speaking Lowlands, and the mainly Gaelic-speaking Highlands. Gaelic persisted in remote parts of the southwest, which had formed part of the rival kingdom of Galloway during the early medieval period, probably up until the late 1700s. Historically, the Lowlands were closer to the mainstream European culture, and adopted a variant of the feudal system after the Norman Conquest of England. A number of major families of Norman ancestry, such as the Bruce, Douglas, and Stewart families, provided most of the monarchs after approximately 1100. By comparison, the clan system of the Highlands formed one of the region's more distinctive features, with a number of powerful clans remaining dominant until after the Act of Union. It is worth noting that the Western Isles, along with Orkney and Shetland, were part of Norway until 1266 and 1468 respectively; the culture of these islands, in many ways, remained distinct from the rest of Scotland until the modern period. In 1603, the Scottish King James VI inherited the throne of England, and became James I of England. James moved to London, only returning to Scotland once. Although he subsequently styled himself as the King of Great Britain, this was a personal union: the two nations shared a head of state but remained separate kingdoms, with the exception of a brief period when Oliver Cromwell overthrew the monarchy and Scotland was under English military occupation. In 1707, the Scottish and English Parliaments enacted the Acts of Union, which merged the Kingdom of Scotland with the Kingdom of England, creating the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Union dissolved both the English and the Scottish Parliaments, and transferred all their powers to a new Parliament sitting in London which then became the Parliament of the United Kingdom. However, most of Scotland's institutions remained separate, notably the country's legal system and its established church; these distinctions remain to the present day. In 1801, Scotland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, when the Kingdom of Great Britain merged with the Kingdom of Ireland. Since 1922, Scotland has been one of the four constituent nations (along with England, Northern Ireland and Wales) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In 1997 the people of Scotland voted to create a new devolved Scottish Parliament, subsequently established by the UK government under the Scotland Act 1998. Following the Act of Union and the subsequent Scottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, Scotland became one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Its industrial decline following the Second World War was particularly acute, but in recent decades the country has enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance, fuelled in part by a resurgent financial services sector, the proceeds of North Sea oil and gas, and latterly the devolved parliament.

Geography

Clan Grant Main article: Geography of Scotland. Scotland comprises the northern part of the island of Great Britain; it is bordered on the south by England. Scotland's territorial extent is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and England and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. Exceptions include the Isle of Man, which is now a crown dependency outside the United Kingdom, Orkney and Shetland, which are Scottish rather than Norwegian, and Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was defined as subject to the laws of England by the 1746 Wales and Berwick Act. The country consists of a mainland area plus several island groups, including Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides, divided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. Three main geographical and geological areas make up the mainland: from north to south, the generally mountainous Highlands containing Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain, the low-lying Central Belt, and the hilly Southern Uplands. The majority of the Scottish population resides in the Central Belt, which contains three of the country's six largest cities (Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Stirling) and many large towns. Most of the remaining population lives in the North-East Lowlands, where two of the remaining three cities (Aberdeen and Dundee) are situated. The final city, Inverness, is situated where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth, on the Great Glen Fault between the North-West Highlands and the Cairngorms. Highest maximum temperature: 32.9°C (91.2°F) at Greycrook, near Newtown St. Boswells, Borders on 9 August 2003. Lowest minimum temperature: -27.2°C (-17.0°F) at Braemar, Aberdeenshire on 11 February 1895 and 10 January 1982 and at Altnaharra, Highland on 30 December 1995. [http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/location/scotland/#temperature]

Major cities

The six designated cities in descending order of population size:
- Glasgow
- Edinburgh, the capital
- Aberdeen
- Dundee
- Inverness
- Stirling Scottish towns:
- List of burghs in Scotland

Waterways

- Major Rivers:
- The Clyde, The Dee, The Don, The Forth, The Tay, The Tweed, The Spey, ...
- Firths:
- Solway, Clyde, Cromarty, Dornoch, Forth, Lorne, Moray, Tay
- Sea Lochs (fjords):
- Loch Linnhe, Loch Fyne, Loch Long, Loch Etive, Loch Sunart, Loch Nevis, Loch Hourn, Loch Broom, Loch Eil
- Freshwater Lochs (lakes) include:
- Loch Ness, Loch Lomond, Loch Morar, Loch Tay, Loch Rannoch, Loch Awe, Loch Shiel, Loch Maree, The Lake of Menteith
- Artificial & Enhanced waterways include:
- Caledonian Canal, Crinan Canal, Forth and Clyde Canal, Union Canal
- See Also Falkirk Wheel

Geology

When vulcanism actively occurred in East Lothian, 350 million years ago, the rocks which now comprise Scotland lay close to the equator, and formed part of the newly amalgamated supercontinent of Pangaea. The continental plates making up Pangaea continued to converge, and a major collision occurred with the continent of Gondwana. The northern and southern parts of the island of Great Britain became adjoined only 75 million years before the onset of vulcanism in East Lothian. Before then, Scotland lay on the margin of the Laurentian continent, which included North America and Greenland. England and Wales lay some 40° of latitude further south, adjacent to Africa and South America in the Gondwanan continent. In the Early Ordovician, approximately 475 million years ago, England and Wales, on the Avalonian plate, rifted away from Gondwana and drifted northward towards Laurentia. The Iapetus Ocean, which separated the two land masses, began to close. By the mid-Silurian, about 420 million years ago, its margins had become attached along the Iapetus Suture, which roughly follows a line running West to East from the Solway Firth to Northumberland. When the later episode of vulcanism occurred, approximately 270 million years ago, Scotland still comprised part of Pangaea, but had drifted northward. East Lothian stood at about 8°North. Consolidation of Pangaea had continued so that the nearest ocean, the Tethys seaway, lay between Eurasia and Africa. Siccar Point in Berwickshire, Scotland, is where James Hutton (the "father" of modern geology) first observed this classic unconformity and recognized the meaning of stratigraphy.

Government and politics

Government

As one of the constituent parts of the United Kingdom, Scotland is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London. The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh has the power to govern the country on Scotland-specific matters and has a limited power to vary income tax. The United Kingdom Parliament retains responsibility for Scotland's defence, international relations and certain other areas. The Scottish Parliament is not a sovereign authority, and the UK Parliament could, in theory, overrule or even abolish it at any time. For the purposes of local government, Scotland is divided into 32 unitary authority districts. Popular folk-memory continues to divide Scotland into 33 traditional counties.

Head of state

traditional counties]] Queen Elizabeth II, head of state of the United Kingdom, is descended from King James VI, King of Scots, the first Scottish monarch to also be King of England (James I, King of England from 1603). While great controversy has simmered amongst the Scottish public over her official title since her coronation (many believe that, being the first Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain, she should use the regnal name "Elizabeth I"), the courts of Scotland have confirmed "Elizabeth II" as her official title. She has said that in the future monarchs will follow the international ordinal tradition that, where a monarch reigns in a number of non-independent territories (or independent territories that agree to share a monarch) that each have a differing number of previous monarchs of the same name, the highest ordinal used in any of the territories is the one used across all (see List of regnal numerals of future British monarchs). Monarchs between 1603 and 1707, such as James VI and I and James VII and II, reigned over separate states and hence used a dual ordinal (see Personal union). Properly, the Scottish monarch was known as King of Scots or Queen of Scots, and referred to as "your Grace", rather than "your Majesty".

Scots Law

Scotland retains its own unique legal system, based on Roman law, which combines features of both civil law and common law. The terms of union with England specified the retention of separate systems. The barristers being called advocates, and the judges of the high court for civil cases are also the judges for the high court for criminal cases. Scots Law differs from England's common law system. Formerly, there were several regional law systems in Scotland, one of which was Udal Law (also called allodail or odal law) in Shetland and Orkney. This was a direct descendant of Old Norse Law, but was abolished in 1611. Despite this, Scottish courts have acknowledged the supremacy of udal law in some property cases as recently as the 1990s. There is a movement to restore udal law[http://www.udallaw.com/] to the islands as part of a devolution of power from Edinburgh to Shetland and Orkney. The laws regarding the nobility are also different in Scotland. Lords known as "Barons" in England are known as "Lords of Parliament." Gentlemen known as "Barons" in Scotland are not members of the House of Lords, as their titles (although still legitimate) are based on the old system of feudal baronies. Various systems based on common Celtic or Brehon Laws also survived in the Highlands until the 1800s.

Politics

See main article: Politics of Scotland, also Politics of the United Kingdom Politics of the United Kingdom Historically the politics of Scotland have reflected those of the UK as a whole, although with some differences. For example, besides the main UK-wide political parties (Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats) a number of Scottish-specific parties operate. These include the Scottish National Party (SNP) which is Scotland's second largest party and forms the main opposition in Parliament to the Labour-Liberal Democrats coalition, as well as the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and the Scottish Green Party. These parties became more of a force in Scottish politics after the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1998. Unlike England, which has a more of a left/right split politically, the political right in Scotland is actually amongst the smallest political groupings with the four main Parties all coming from a mix of far-left to moderate-left philosophies. The traditional political divides of left and right have also intersected with arguments over devolution, which all the UK-wide parties have supported to some degree throughout their history (although both Labour and the Conservatives have swithered a number of times between supporting and opposing it). However, now that devolution has occurred, the main argument about Scotland's constitutional status remains between those who support Scottish independence and those who oppose it. Recent trends indicate, according to the Joseph Rowntree [http://www.jrrt.org.uk/FINDINGS.pdf Reform Trust "State of the Nation Poll"] 2004, that 66% of Scots would like the Scottish Parliament to have more powers, while only 2% would like to see the powers returned to the House of Commons and Whitehall, with 21% happy with the status quo.

Language

Scotland has three distinct languages: English, Gaelic, and Scots. Almost all Scots speak Scottish Standard English. It is estimated by the General Register Office for Scotland that 30% of the population are also fluent in Scots, a West Germanic language sister to the English language. Slightly more than 1% of the population are native Gaelic speakers, a Celtic language similar to Irish. Eilean Siar is the only unitary council region of Scotland where Gaelic is spoken by a majority of the population and that fact is reflected in the use of Gaelic in its official name. Almost all Gaelic speakers also speak fluent English. By the time of James VI's accession to the English throne, the old Scottish Court and Parliament spoke and wrote in Scots, also known as Lowland Scots or Lallans (although strictly speaking Lallans is a literary dialect of the Scots language). Scots is widely believed to have developed from the Northumbrian form of Anglo-Saxon, spoken in Bernicia which, in the 6th century, conquered the Brythonic kingdom of Gododdin (modern-day Lothian) and renamed its capital, Dunedin, to Edinburgh. The influence of settlers from the Low Countries and Norway in the east coast burghs founded from the reign of David I onwards was also an important factor in the development of the language, however. Scots contains a number of loanwords from Gaelic. Equally, there is a strong movement in the Aberdeen area to have Doric, the dialect of Scots spoken around Aberdeen, recognised as a language. In addition, there is a movement to revive Norn, a dialect of Old Norse which died out in the 19th century, on Orkney and Shetland. Town names on signs in Shetland are written in both languages. The Scottish Parliament recognises both English and Gaelic as official languages of Scotland, both receiving "equal respect" although not equal validity. Gaelic received official recognition through the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. The Scots language was also officially recognised as a "regional or minority language" under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ratified by the United Kingdom in 2001, and the Scottish Executive, has promised to provide support in their Partnership Agreement 2003. The [http://www.scotsdictionaries.org.uk/ Scottish Language Dictionaries] receive some state funding via the Scottish Arts Council.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Scotland Scotland has a civic and ethnic culture distinct from that of the rest of the British Isles. It originates from various differences, some entrenched as part of the Act of Union, others facets of nationhood not readily defined but readily identifiable.

Scottish education

The system of Education in Scotland is also separate, and has a distinctive history as the first country since Sparta in classical Greece to implement a system of general public education. The early roots were in the Education Act of 1496 which first introduced compulsory education for the eldest sons of nobles, then the principle of general public education was set with the Reformation establishment of the national Kirk which in 1561 set out a national programme for spiritual reform, including a school in every parish. In 1633 the Parliament of Scotland introduced a tax on local landowners to fund this, subsequently strengthened with the Education Act of 1696 which remained in force until 1872. The Act of Union guaranteed the rights of the Scottish universities and confirmed the position of the Kirk, maintaining Scotland's pre-eminence in public education. Education finally came under the control of the state rather than the Kirk and became compulsory for all children from the implementation of the Education Act of 1872 onwards. As a result, for over two hundred years Scotland had a higher percentage of its population educated at primary, secondary and tertiary levels than any other country in Europe. The differences in education have manifested themselves in different ways, but most noticeably in the number of Scots who went on to become leaders in their fields during the 18th and 19th centuries. The then-Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace stated in October 2004 that Scotland still produces a higher number of university and college graduates per head than anywhere else in Europe. School students in Scotland sit Standard Grade exams while students in England sit GCSE exams, and then a broad range of Higher Grade exams rather than becoming more specialised under the English A-level system. Following this, a Scottish university's honours degree takes four years of study as opposed to three in the rest of the UK. The university systems in several Commonwealth countries show marked affinities with the Scottish rather than the English system.

Banking and currency

Finance in Scotland also features unique characteristics. Although the Bank of England remains the central bank for the UK Government, three Scottish corporate banks still issue their own banknotes: (the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank). These notes have no status as legal tender in England, Wales or Northern Ireland; but in practice they are universally accepted throughout the UK (including in Northern Ireland, where Irish banks also issue their own banknotes), as well as in the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands). The Royal Bank of Scotland still produces a £1 note, unique amongst British banks. The full range of notes commonly accepted are £1, £5, £10, £20, £50 and £100. Bank of England currency is also accepted as legal currency in Scotland. (See British banknotes for further discussion) The only legal tender, by a strict definition, in Scotland is coinage of the Royal Mint (including gold); by statute, Bank of England notes below the value of £5 are legal tender, but none are currently circulating. No Bank of England notes in use, or any of the Scottish banknotes, are legal tender in Scotland. In practice this has little effect, as creditors are obliged to accept any "reasonable" attempt to settle a debt under Scots law. All four sets of banknotes are freely accepted in Scotland, and can be considered legal currency, though it is unusual for notes over £20 to be used in normal business. The pound Scots, which ceased being used with the Act of Union, is still sometimes invoked. Originally the same value as the pound sterling, today it is treated as being worth one-twelfth of a pound sterling, or eight and a third pence, the value it had in 1707. It only exists in a legal sense; generally in archaic laws or bequests, with values given either in pounds Scots or in merks, another archaic unit of currency. The merk, or mark, was worth around thirteen or fourteen shillings Scots — just over one English shilling. Both the Bank of Scotland and the Bank of England were founded by William Paterson of Dumfries. In addition the modern system of branch banking (in which banks maintain a nationwide system of offices rather than one or two central offices) originated in Scotland. Only strong political pressure during the 19th century prevented the resultant strong banking system from taking over banking in England. However, although Scottish banks proved unwelcome in England at the time, their business model became widely copied, firstly in England and later in the rest of the world. The Savings Bank movement was created in Scotland in 1810 by the Reverend Henry Duncan as a means of allowing his parishioners to save smaller amounts of money than the major banks would accept as deposits at that time. His model for the Ruthwell Parish Bank was adopted by well-to-do sponsors throughout the world, with most of the British savings banks eventually amalgamating to form the Trustee Savings Bank - more recently merged with the commercial bank, Lloyds Bank, to form Lloyds TSB - and the American examples becoming a Savings and Loan Association. See [http://www.savingsbanksmuseum.co.uk/] for further information.

Sport

Savings and Loan Association Scotland also has its own sporting competitions distinct from the rest of the UK, such as the Scottish Football League and the Scottish Rugby Union. This gives the country independent representation at many international sporting events such as the football World Cup and various rugby tournaments such as the Six Nations. Scotland cannot compete in the Olympic Games independently however, and Scottish athletes must compete as part of the Great Britain team if they wish to take part. Scotland does however send its own team to compete in the Commonwealth Games. Association Football is the most popular sport in the country, both played and watched. Innovations such as a passing style of play, a team working as a unit, half-time and free-kicks were introduced by Queen's Park F.C., all of which were later incorporated and remain in the modern game. Their Hampden Park home, the world's first and oldest international football stadium, holds several European attendance records including 149,415 watching a Scottish international. The Scottish Football Association is the second oldest national football association in the world, with the Scottish national football team playing and hosting the world's first ever international football match. The Scottish Cup is the world's oldest national trophy. The oldest professional football club in Scotland is Kilmarnock FC, founded in 1869. Scotland is considered the "Home of Golf", and is well known for its many courses, including the Old Course that is synonymous with the game. Established in 1754, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews also codified the rules of golf. As well as its world famous Highland Games, where several traditional events such as the McGlashan stones are now common in world strongman events, Scotland has also given the world curling, and shinty, a stick game related to Ireland's hurling, and similar to England's field hockey. Whilst stereotypically seen as an English game, Scottish cricket has always had a large following throughout the country. Scottish cricketScottish professional rugby clubs compete in the Celtic League, along with teams from Ireland and Wales. However, the country retains a national league for amateur and semi-pro clubs. Shinty is run by the Camanachd Association and is played primarily in its Highland heartland, but also in most universities and cities. Kingussie have the distinction of appearing in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful sporting team of all time, having won the league for twenty years in a row.

Media

Scotland has distinct media from the rest of the UK. For example, it produces many national newspapers such as Daily Record (Scotland's leading tabloid), The Herald broadsheet, based in Glasgow, and The Scotsman in Edinburgh. The Herald, formerly known as the Glasgow Herald, changed its name to promote a national rather than a regional identity, while The Scotsman, which used to be a broadsheet, recently switched to tabloid format. Sunday newspapers include the tabloid Sunday Mail (published by Daily Record parent company Trinity Mirror) and the Sunday Post, while the Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday have associations with The Herald and The Scotsman respectively. Regional dailies include The Courier and Advertiser in Dundee in the east, and The Press and Journal serving Aberdeen and the north. Scotland has its own BBC services which include the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland and Gaelic language service, BBC Radio nan Gaidheal. There are also a number of BBC and independent local radio stations throughout the country. In addition to radio, BBC Scotland also runs two national television stations. Much of the output of BBC Scotland Television, such as news and current affairs programmes, and the Glasgow-based soap opera, River City, are intended for broadcast within Scotland, whilst others, such as drama and comedy programmes, aim at audiences throughout the UK and further afield. Sports coverage also differs, reflecting the fact that the country has its own football leagues, separate from those of England. Three independent television stations (Scottish TV, Grampian TV and ITV1 Border) also broadcast in Scotland. Although they previously had independent existences, Scottish TV (serving the Central Lowlands) and Grampian (serving the Highlands and Islands) now belong to the same company (The Scottish Media Group) and resemble each other closely, apart from local news coverage. English-based ITV1 Border has had a more complex position, as it serves communities on both sides of the border with England, as well as the Isle of Man, and it now has separate news programs for each side of the border. Most of the independent television output equates to that transmitted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the exception of news and current affairs, sport, cultural and Gaelic language programming.

Other facets of Scottish culture

Isle of Man Scotland retains its own distinct sense of nationhood. Academic research consistently shows that people in Scotland feel Scottish, whilst not necessarily feeling the need to see that translated into the establishment of a fully-independent Scottish nation-state. Scotland also has its own unique family of languages and dialects, helping to foster a strong sense of "Scottish-ness". See Scots language and Scottish Gaelic language. An organisation called Iomairt Cholm Cille (http://www.colmcille.net) has been set up to support Gaelic-speaking communities in both Scotland and Ireland and to promote links between them. Scotland retains its own national church, separate from that of England. See Church of Scotland and the section on "Religion" below. These factors combine together to form a strong, readily identifiable Scottish civic culture.

Religion

The Church of Scotland (sometimes referred to as The Kirk) is the national church, but it is not subject to state control nor is it "established" in the same manner as the Church of England within England. It is, however, recognised as the national church by Act of Parliament - Church of Scotland Act 1921. The Church of Scotland differs from the Church of England in several key respects, most notably in terms of not having a prescriptive liturgy and also in that it has a Presbyterian rather than Episcopalian form of church governance. Presbyterian church government was guaranteed by the Act of Union in 1707. The Scots are proud of the fact that the Scottish Reformation took place at a grassroots level, unlike the English experience, where the reformation, at least in its first thrust under Henry VIII, was a politically motivated top-down reform. The Scottish Reformation, initiated in 1560 and led by John Knox, was Calvinist, and throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Church of Scotland maintained a strict theology and kept a tight control over the morality of the population. The Church had an overwhelming influence on the cultural development of Scotland in early modern times. Because Calvinism does not adhere to the Liturgical Year, for example, Christmas was not widely celebrated in Scotland until the mid-20th century. The intellectual nature of Calvinism contributed greatly to the predominance of Scottish thinkers in the age of Enlightenment (see Scottish Enlightenment), but the Church's distrust of the sensual is seen as the reason why Scotland contributed little to classical music and art before the 19th century. Since the mid-19th century, however, the Church of Scotland has developed into a generally tolerant and heterogenous church with an interest in ecumenism. A number of other Christian denominations exist in Scotland, foremost amongst them Roman Catholicism, which survived the reformation especially on islands like Uist and Barra despite the suppression of the 16th to late 18th centuries, and was strengthened in the 19th century by immigration from Ireland. It has now become the largest Christian denomination after the Church of Scotland, and is strongest in the West of Scotland (although roadside shrines can be seen in the South Isles of the Outer Hebrides, similar to those in Ireland). Much of Scotland (particularly the West Central Belt around Glasgow) has experienced problems caused by the religious divide between Presbyterians and Roman Catholics. Some Scots maintain that sectarianism is still deeply rooted in Scottish society. This problem has historically manifested itself in a number of ways, particularly in discrimination in employment and in football fanaticism. The problems associated with sectarianism in Scotland have diminished markedly in recent years, although some issues remain. The Scottish police have recently moved to restrict the number of Orange Order parades and the state funding of separate Roman Catholic primary and secondary schools remains a controversial issue. As well as the Church of Scotland there are various other Protestant churches, including the Scottish Episcopal Church, which forms a full part of the Anglican Communion, and the Free Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian off-shoot from the Church of Scotland adhering to a more conservative style of Calvinism. Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Scotland, although its numbers remain small. There are also significant Jewish (though higher in past decades) and Sikh communities, especially in Glasgow (Nancy Morris is Scotland's first woman rabbi). Scotland has a high proportion of persons who regard themselves as belonging to 'no religion'. Indeed, this was the second most common response in the 2001 census.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Scotland Most Scottish industry and commerce is concentrated in a few large cities on the waterways of the central lowlands. Edinburgh, on the Firth of Forth, is a cultural centre, the capital of Scotland, and one of the top financial centres in Europe. Glasgow, one of the largest cities in the UK, lies on the River Clyde; it is Scotland's leading seaport and today is the fourth largest manufacturing centre in the UK, accounting for well over 60% of Scotland's manufactured exports, with particular strengths in shipbuilding, engineering, food and drink, printing, publishing, clothing and textiles as well as new growth sectors such as software development and biotechnology. The dominant sector of Glasgow's economy is the service sector industries such as finance and banking, public administration, education, healthcare, and tourism. Glasgow is one of Europe's top 20 financial centres and is home to many of Britain's leading businesses. Glasgow also has the UK's largest and most economically important commerce and retail district. Although heavy industry has declined, the high-technology Silicon Glen corridor has developed between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Tourism is also very important. The significance of coal, once Scotland's most important mineral resource, has declined. Oil, however, gained prominence in Scotland's economy during the 1970s, with the growth of North Sea oil extraction companies. Natural gas is also abundant in the North Sea fields. Aberdeen is the centre of the oil industry. Scotland is a net exporter of energy to the rest of the UK, with abundant electricity generation capacity. Other important industries are textile production (woollens, worsteds, silks, and linens), distilling, and fishing. Textiles, beer, and whisky, which are among Scotland's chief exports, are produced in many towns. Salmon are taken from the Tay and the Dee, and numerous coastal towns and villages are supported by fishing from the North Sea. Only about one quarter of the land is under cultivation (principally in cereals and vegetables), but sheep raising is important in the less arable mountainous regions. Because of the persistence of feudalism and the land enclosures of the 19th cent. (see History, below), the ownership of most land in Scotland is concentrated in relatively few hands (some 350 people own about half the land). In 2003, as a result, the Scottish Parliament passed a land reform act that empowered tenant farmers and communities to purchase land even if the landlord did not want to sell.

National symbols

- The Flag of Scotland dates from the 9th century making it one of the oldest flags in the world. It now forms part of the Union Flag, the national flag of the United Kingdom. However the Flag of Scotland, known as the Saltire or St Andrew's Cross can be found flying all over Scotland.
- The Royal Standard of Scotland, a banner showing the old royal arms of the Kings of Scotland is also frequently to be seen, particuarly at sporting events involving a Scottish team. Often called the lion rampant (after its chief heraldic device), it is the property of the Queen and its use by anybody else is technically illegal. The banner is flown from Holyrood Palace and Balmoral Castle when the Queen is not in residence.
- The unicorn is also used as a symbol of Scotland. The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland, used prior to 1603 by the Kings of Scotland, incorporated a lion rampant shield supported by two unicorns. On the union of the crowns, the Arms were quartered with those of England and Ireland, and one unicorn was replaced by a lion (the supporters of England).
- The thistle, the national flower of Scotland, features in many Scottish symbols and logos, and UK currency. According to one common legend, a Danish attacker stepped on one at night, so alerting the defenders of a Scottish castle; hence it is called the "guardian thistle".
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High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is Scotland's supreme criminal court. The High Court is both a court of first instance and also a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House (or in the former Sheriff Court building) in Edinburgh, but also sits from time to time in various other places in Scotland. As a court of appeal, it sits only in Edinburgh. The High Court of Justiciary has once sat outside Scotland, at Zeist in the Netherlands (see Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial.)
Judges
The judges of the High Court are the same ones who sit in the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court. The Court of Session's Lord President is the High Court's Lord Justice General. Also, the Lord Justice Clerk holds that office in both courts. The remaining judges are referred to as Lords Commissioners of Justiciary in the context of the High Court, but are normally called Lords of Council and Session or Senators of the College of Justice, their Court of Session titles.
First instance jurisdiction
When sitting as a court of first instance, that is, when hearing a case for the first time rather than on appeal, a single Lord Commissioner of Justiciary usually presides (although two or more judges may sit in important or difficult cases) with a jury of fifteen individuals. Under the Scottish legal system, the jury need not return a unanimous verdict; a majority verdict may also be used. The Scottish legal system also permits a verdict of 'not proven' as well as verdicts of 'guilty' or 'not guilty'. The High Court has jurisdiction over all crimes in Scotland unless restricted by statute. In practice, however, the High Court generally deals with crimes, such as murder and rape, in which it has exclusive jurisdiction, and other serious crimes.
Appellate jurisdiction
Appeals may be made to the High Court of Justiciary sitting as the Court of Criminal Appeal from the lower courts in criminal cases. An appeal may also be made to the High Court if the High Court itself heard the case at first instance. Two judges sit to hear an appeal against sentence, and three judges sit to hear an appeal against conviction. There is no further appeal from the High Court's decision on appeal, in contrast to the Court of Session, from which it is possible to appeal to the House of Lords, the UK's highest court. However, appeals under the Human Rights Act and devolution appeals under the Scotland Act are heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The members of the Judicial Committee also sit in the House of Lords as the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary.
History
The High Court was founded in 1672, but its origins derive from the College of Justice and the medieval royal courts. The medieval justiciar (royal judge) took its name from the justices who originally travelled around Scotland hearing cases on circuit or 'ayre'. From 1524, the justiciar or a deputy was required to have a permanent base in Edinburgh, and the College of Justice was established in Edinburgh in 1532.
See also

- Courts of Scotland
- List of Senators of the College of Justice
- List of Leading Scottish Legal Cases
External link

- [http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/justiciary/index.asp High Court of Justiciary] Category:National supreme courts Category:Scottish court systems

Barrister

A barrister is a type of lawyer found in Common law jurisidictions who serve as counsel, presenting cases before courts of law. Historically, they had exclusive rights of audience in the courts, and today retain the right of audience in all courts, including supreme courts. Barristers do not normally work directly with clients, instead they are instructed by solicitors: it is the solicitor who works directly with the client. Barristers are refered to as advocates in Scotland and in the Channel Islands.

Barristers in England and Wales

The legal profession in England and Wales is divided between solicitors and barristers. Both are trained in law but serve different functions in the practice of law. Until recently, the most obvious difference between the two professions was that only barristers had a general right of audience in all courts in England and Wales. Barristers were therefore specialists either in appearing in court, or in the process of using the courts, which would include giving oral or written advice on the strength of a case and the best way to conduct it. In fact, many barristers have largely "paper practices" where they rarely or never make court appearances. This difference between the two professions has been eroded recently. Solicitors have always been able to appear before many inferior courts and tribunals. Now many solicitors have what are called "higher rights", enabling them to appear in superior courts, although in practice many do not. The key difference between the two professions is that a solicitor is an attorney, meaning that they stand in the place of their client, wheras a barrister merely speaks on behalf of their client. For example, a solicitor may hold funds on behalf of their client (for example in conveyancing) whereas a barrister is forbidden from doing so. A further difference is that a barrister may either be "employed" or in "independent practice". Formerly, an employed barrister could represent only their employer (and thus could not give general legal services to the public) but there is an increasing trend for barristers to be employed by a solicitors firm and provide general legal services as a lawyer at that firm (retaining their rights of audience in the more senior courts). Most representation, though, is given by barristers in independent practice, who may not be members of partnerships (as solicitors usually are), but must act as sole traders with unlimited liability. In order to function in the legal services market, most barristers in independent practice form themselves into groups, called "chambers" or "sets". Many common costs are shared between members of the set, including the finding of work. Barristers in independent practice could not, in the past, accept work directly from members of the public, but could only be instructed through the intermediary of a solicitor. This is still the normal way in which such barristers are instructed, but many now offer various kinds of direct access. Most barristers are probably properly equated with US trial lawyers in that they do not normally deal with the public (or lay clients) directly, but through the intermediary of a solicitor. There are currently about 10,000 barristers in practice in England and Wales, of whom about ten percent are QCs. Many barristers are also employed in companies as ‘in-house’ counsel, or by local or national government or in academic institutions.

Appearance and forms of address

A barrister's dress in court depends on whether the hearing is "robed" or not. Trials in open court are still mostly robed. Interim hearings and trials in chambers are almost always unrobed, though this is at the discretion of the judge. At a robed hearing, barristers must wear a wig (usually of horsehair), with a black gown and a dark suit and a shirt, with strips of white cotton called 'bands' hanging before a wing collar. QCs wear slightly different silk gowns over short embroidered black jackets. By contrast, solicitors appearing as advocates do not wear wigs, though they must still wear a gown. The question of barristers' and judges' clothing is currently the subject of review, and there is some pressure to adopt a more "modern" style of dress, with European-style gowns worn over lounge suits. Traditionally, barristers refer to each other in court as "my learned friend", and solicitors as "my friend"; this harks back to the days when the legal profession was small enough for all practitioners to know each other personally. Some barristers believe that the distinction in form of address is potentially insulting to solicitors and try to refer to other barristers and solicitors in the same way.

The Inns of Court

While solicitors are regulated by the Law Society, barristers are governed by the General Council of the Bar and the individual Inns of Court. There are four Inns, all situated in the area of London close to the Law Courts in the Strand. Gray's Inn is off High Holborn, Lincoln's Inn off Chancery Lane, the Middle and Inner Temples, situated between Fleet Street and the Embankment. The Inns bear more than a passing resemblance to Oxford and Cambridge colleges, with communal dining halls and libraries as well as living and working rooms: arguably, this facilitates the transition from public school to Oxbridge college to the Bar. Each of these institutions looks (and some say are) remarkably similar. Another element of life at the Bar which is similar to public schools, is that the High Court of Justice, sits in "terms", some of which were adopted as the "term" dates traditionally observed by the public schools.

Qualifying as a barrister

Intending barristers must first complete the academic stage of their legal education by obtaining a qualifying law degree (usually an LL.B., but in some universities B.A. - a first degree in the United Kingdom) but many undertake a one year conversion course having initially graduated in a non-law subject. This conversion course used to be known as a CPE (Common Professional Examination) or PGDL (Postgraduate Diploma in Law), and is now known simply as a GDL: a Graduate Diploma in Law. The student then joins one of the Inns of Court and takes the bar vocational course (BVC) at one of the accredited providers. It is still mandatory to 'keep terms' before the student can be called to the bar. This involves 'eating dinners', a custom whereby all students must dine at their Inn a requisite number of times. It used to be a pre-requisite that twenty-four dinners were eaten before call but the number has since been reduced to twelve. Dining credits are available for participating in specified training events e.g. a weekend at Cumberland Lodge organised by one of the Inns credits attendees with three dinners. It is also possible to "double-dine" on various special occasions, where the student is credited with two dinners. The origins of this date from the time when not merely students but practitioners dined together and students picked up the elements of their education from their fellow diners and from readings given by a senior member of the Inn (Master Reader) after the meal. Even today, at least at Middle Temple, the students are required to be present both at the commencement of the formal meal and at the grace that completes it. Often moots (legal debates arguing for or against a point before a theoretical appellate court) are held in hall afterwards. At the successful completion of their BVC (where continuous assessment as well as examinations are now the rule) and the survival of the requisite number of dining nights, students have been entitled to be 'called to the Bar' at a ceremony in their Inn. This is conducted by the Masters of the Bench, or 'Benchers', who are generally senior practising barristers or judges. However, from 2008, only those who have successfully completed pupillage will be entitled to be called to the bar. Once called to the bar, the new barrister has a choice whether or not to pursue a career in practice. There are far more applicants for "tenancy" in barristers' "Chambers" (see below) than there are places, and so many barristers, unable to obtain a tenancy in chambers, nowadays choose to go into commerce or academe and eschew the vagaries of life in the courtroom. Those who wish to become a practising barrister must first obtain a 'pupillage'. This is a competitive process which involves some 1500 students applying for some 600 places each year. The online pupillage application system, OLPAS enables applicants to submit their details to up to twelve barristers chambers. The OLPAS application rounds take place twice a year in summer and autumn with individual chambers recruiting in one or other of these seasons, or both, should they not find suitable pupils the first time around. The OLPAS system is utilised by most chambers to recruit their pupils; many, however, do not, and these chambers must be contacted directly by applicants. There is no limit to the number of non-OLPAS chambers that an applicant can contact, although such chambers' recruiting deadlines broadly mirror those of the OLPAS sets, in that some will recruit only in the summer and others only in the autumn. Pupillage consists of a period of twelve months, where the pupil serves an apprenticeship (known as a "pupillage") to a barrister of at least five years experience. This is traditionally served in two six-month periods under different pupil-masters (three month periods are becoming increasingly common), usually in the same chambers. Traditionally, the pupil was paid nothing and could earn no fees until the second six month period, when he or she was entitled to undertake work independently. All sets are now required to pay their pupils a minimum of £10,000 per year. Some pay considerably more than that although others have applied for exemption and do not guarantee any income. The Bar is a very varied profession, both in terms of the specialism (or otherwise) of individual sets of chambers, and in the financial rewards available. For sets doing predominantly publicly-funded work, earnings are low for new practitioners, and tend to remain so for many years. In such areas, the Bar remains a career where supportive bank managers (and/or parents) are necessary. In other more specialised areas serving private clients, such as commercial, tax or chancery work, earnings are far higher and at least comparable to those of similarly experienced solicitors in big City firms (perhaps with the exception of the highest-earning partners at such firms). The Bar is perceived as something of an elite profession, both in the social sense and also academically: many barristers are educated in educational systems of the older universities where competition is encouraged. After pupillage the new barrister must find a seat or 'tenancy' in a set of chambers. Chambers are groups of barristers, and tend to comprise between 20 and 60 barristers. The members of a Chambers share the rent and facilities, such as the service of "clerks" (who are a cross between a salesperson and a PA), secretaries and other support staff. Most chambers offer a system whereby the members contribute to these common expenses by paying a certain percentage of their gross income and/or rent office space. However, there is no profit-sharing as in a business partnership, and individual barristers keep the fees they themeselves earn, beyond what they have to pay towards the chambers expenses. The Bar remains a highly individualistic profession. Nonetheless, earnings can be high, with the top Queen's Counsel (QCs or 'silks' as they are known, from their silk gowns) making well in excess of £1 million a year. Although not all barristers now practise from the Inns themselves (for reasons such as the limited amount of space available and the terms upon which Inns premises are habitually leased), the vast majority still practise from chambers. The names placed on boards at the entrances of many of the staircases of the buildings within the Inns are the names of the tenant barristers (and occasionally distinguished members now prominent in judicial or political life) practising out of the chambers in those buildings.

Barristers in Northern Ireland

Queen's Counsel The legal profession in Northern Ireland consists of two separate and complementary branches - Barristers and [http://www.lawsoc-ni.org Solicitors]. They are trained and organised in distinctive ways which reflect the differences in their functions and the services they provide. The solicitor is usually the first point of contact for any member of the public seeking legal advice. In the normal course of events the solicitor is often the only point of contact as he or she is qualified to see many matters through from beginning to end, for example in conveyancing, debt collecting, making and dealing with wills and matrimonial cases. The practising barrister is essentially a consultant offering specialist services as an adviser and advocate in all matters involving the law. In the first instance the barrister does not meet the lay client, namely the person who may require advice or representation, but if it is necessary the solicitor takes instructions from the client and approaches a barrister to advise or to represent the client in court. The distancing of the barrister from the client is seen to be advantageous in that it helps maintain impartiality. Where a case proceeds the solicitor carries out some of the preparatory work. Barristers, with their intimate knowledge of litigation, of the ways of the court and of the judiciary, concentrate on the presentation of the case. Meetings between barrister and client take place according to needs and circumstances. Often things go no further if the claim or defence is unlikely to succeed. In April 2003 there were 555 barristers in independent practice in Northern Ireland. There are 66 Queen’s Counsel or QC's, barristers who have earned a high reputation and are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor as senior advocates and advisers. The title does not imply an association with the State. Those barristers who are not QC's are called Junior Counsel and are styled "B.L." or "Barrister-at-Law". The term "junior" is misleading since many members of the Junior Bar are experienced barristers with considerable expertise. Benchers are, and have been for centuries, the governing bodies of the four Inns of Court in London and King’s Inns, Dublin. The Benchers of the Inn of Court of Northern Ireland governed the Inn until the enactment of the Constitution of the Inn in 1983, which provides that the government of the Inn is shared between the Benchers, the Executive Council of the Inn and members of the Inn assembled in General Meeting. The Executive Council (through its Education Committee) is responsible for considering Memorials submitted by applicants for admission as students of the Inn and by Bar students of the Inn for admission to the degree of Barrister-at-Law and making recommendations to the Benchers. The final decisions on these memorials are taken by the Benchers. The Benchers also have the exclusive power of expelling or suspending a Bar student and of disbarring a barrister or suspending a barrister from practice. The Executive Council is also involved with the education; fees of students; calling counsel to the Bar although call to the Bar is performed by the Lord Chief Justice on the invitation of the Benchers; administration of the Bar Library (to which all practising members of the Bar belong); and liaising with corresponding bodies in other countries. The Bar Council is responsible for the maintenance of the standards, honour and independence of the Bar and, through its Professional Conduct Committee, receives and investigates complaints against members of the Bar in their professional capacity.

Barristers in other jurisdictions

Barristers are also found in the Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong (where the Chinese name da lu shi, 大律師 is also used), and Australia (in the states without a fused profession, namely New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland). In Canada, the professions of barrister and solicitor are fused, and many lawyers refer to themselves with both names. However, in Quebec, which has substantive law under the civil law tradition, the practice is closer to that of the United Kingdom, with les avocats practicing before the courts, and civil law notaries or les notaires limited to most of the functions of solicitors. In Western Australia and Victoria, the professions of barristers and solicitors are fused, but nonetheless