§ Mrs. Winifred Ewingasked the Lord Advocate whether in the last five years, all Scottish appeals to the House of Lords have had a majority of the judges qualified in Scots law.
The Lord AdvocateOf the nine Lords of Appeal in Ordinary two are always appointed from the Scottish Bench or Bar.
Appeals are normally heard by five Lords of Appeal, and I understand that every effort is made to ensure that the two Scottish Lords of Appeal are present in the case of a Scottish appeal. Both Scottish Lords of Appeal sat in 15 of the 18 Scottish appeals heard during the period 1970–74; one sat in two of the remaining three, and in one case no Scottish Lord of Appeal was present.