Research and analysis
Involvement in Cases
Updated 6 October 2026
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1. Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (AGS Intervention)
| Case name | Origin | Date of judgment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Shields Montgomery and Andrew Alexander Marshall Coulter v. Her Majesty’s Advocate and The Advocate General for Scotland | High Court of Justiciary | 19 October 2000 | |
| Procurator Fiscal, Dunfermline and Her Majesty’s Advocate General for Scotland v. Margaret Anderson Brown | High Court of Justiciary | 05 December 2000 | |
| Her Majesty’s Advocate and Her Majesty’s Advocate General for Scotland v. Robert McIntosh | High Court of Justiciary | 05 February 2001 | |
| Norman McLean and Peter McLean v. Procurator Fiscal, Fort William and Her Majesty’s Advocate General | High Court of Justiciary | 24 May 2001 | |
| Karl Anderson, Alexander Reid and Brian Doherty v. The Scottish Ministers and Advocate General for Scotland | Inner House, Court of Session | 15 October 2001 | |
| Kenneth Anthony Paton Mills v. Her Majesty’s Advocate and The Advocate General for Scotland | High Court of Justiciary | 22 July 2002 | |
| “R” v. Her Majesty’s Advocate and The Advocate General for Scotland | High Court of Justiciary | 28 November 2002 | |
| “DS” v Her Majesty’s Advocate | High Court of Justiciary | 22 May 2007 | |
| David Spiers, Procurator Fiscal v. Kevin Gerald Ruddy (Scotland) and Her Majesty’s Advocate General for Scotland | High Court of Justiciary | 12 December 2007 | |
| McDonald, Dixon and Blair v. Her Majesty’s Advocate | High Court of Justiciary | 16 October 2008 | |
| George Burns v. Her Majesty’s Advocate | High Court of Justiciary | 03 November 2008 | |
| John Murtagh v. Her Majesty’s Advocate | High Court of Justiciary | 03 August 2009 |
2. House of Lords Cases (AGS representing HM Government)
| Case name | Appeal from: | Date of judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Tehrani v. Secretary of State for the Home Department | Inner House Court of Session | 18 October 2006 (HL) |
| Somerville (AP) and others v. Scottish Ministers | Inner House Court of Session | 24 October 2007 (HL) |
| Common Services Agency v. Scottish Information Commissioner | Inner House Court of Session | 9 July 2008 (HL) |
| Fatima Helow (AP) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department | Inner House Court of Session | 22 October 2008 (HL) |
3. UK Supreme Court Cases (AGS Intervention – criminal appeals)
| Case name | Appeal from: | Date of judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Steven Allison v HMA | High Court of Justiciary | 10 February 2010 |
| Paul McInnes v HMA | High Court of Justiciary | 10 February 2010 |
| Sean Martin v HMA | High Court of Justiciary | 03 March 2010 |
| Ross Miller v HMA | High Court of Justiciary | 03 March 2010 |
| Peter Cadder v HMA | High Court of Justiciary | 26 October 2010 |
| BH & anr v Lord Advocate | High Court of Justiciary | 20 June 2012 |
4. UK Supreme Court Cases (AGS representing HM Government - civil appeals)
| Case name | Appeal from: | Date of judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Grays Timber Products Ltd v HMRC | Inner House Court of Session | 3 February 2010 |
| Scottish Widows PLC v Commissioners for HMRC | Inner House Court of Session | 6 July 2011 |
| Blajosse Charlotte Eba v The Advocate General | Inner House Court of Session | 22 June 2011 |
| Axa General Insurance Ltd & Others for Judicial Review of the Damages (Asbestos - Related Conditions) (Scotland) Act 2009 | Inner House Court of Session | 12 October 2011 |
| BH & another v Lord Advocate (extradition) KAS or H & another v Lord Advocate | Inner House Court of Session | 20 June 2012 |
| Imperial Tobacco Ltd v The Lord Advocate & Advocate General | Inner House Court of Session | 12 December 2012 |
| George McGeoch v The Lord President of Council + R(appn of Chester) v Secretary of State for Justice | Inner House Court of Session | 16 October 2013 |
| Zoumbas v SSHD | Inner House Court of Session | 27 November 2013 |
| IA v SSHD | Inner House Court of Session | 29 January 2014 |
| A v BBC (& SSHD) | Inner House Court of Session | 08 May 2014 |
| MN & NY v SSHD | Inner House Court of Session | 21 May 2014 |
| Moohan & Gillon v The Lord Advocate | Inner House Court of Session | 17 December 2014 |
| Khalid Ahmad v SSHD | Inner House Court of Session | Appeal abandoned October 2016 |
| R (Kiarie & Byndloss) v SSHD | Court of Appeal | 14 June 2017 |
| RFC 2021 PLC (in liquidation) (formerly the Rangers Football Club Plc) v Advocate General for Scotland | Inner House Court of Session | 5 July 2017 |
| Sadovska & Malik v AGS for SoS Home Department | Inner House Court of Session | 26 July 2017 |
| AGS for SoS Work & Pensions v MMcK | Inner House Court of Session | 24 August 2017 |
| Brown v Parole Board for Scotland, Scottish Ministers and AGS for SoS Justice | Inner House Court of Session | 01 November 2017 |
| Scotch Whisky Association & others v Lord Advocate & AGS for SoS Health & SoS Home Department | Inner House Court of Session | 15 November 2017 |
| AGS for SoS Home Department v Shelley Romein | Inner House Court of Session | 08 February 2018 |
| Commissioners for HMRC v Taylor Clark Leisure Plc | Inner House Court of Session | 08 February 2018 |
| Monica Allan v AGS for SoS Justice (CICA) | Inner House Court of Session | Appeal allowed by order dated 30 January 2019 |
| Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v MM | Inner House Court of Session | 18 July 2019 |
| R (on the application for Miller) v The Prime Minister Cherry and others v Advocate General for Scotland | High Court England & Inner House Court of Session | 24 September 2019 |
| The Advocate General representing the Commissioners of HMRC v KE Entertainments Ltd | Inner House Court of Session | 24 June 2020 |
| PA v The Secretary of State for the Home Department | Inner House Court of Session | 19 June 2020 |
| Anwar v AGS for SoS for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | Inner House Court of Session | 13 October 2021 |
| Balhousie Holdings Ltd v Commissioners for HMRC | Inner House of the Court of Session | 31 March 2021 |
| James Craig v The Lord Advocate (for the Government of the United States of America) and Advocate General | High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court | 23 February 2022 |
5. Court of Justice of the European Union (AGS representing HM Government)
| Case name | Date of judgment |
|---|---|
| Case C-428/07, R (oao Mark Horvath) v.Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 16 July 2009 |
| European Commission, Council of the European Union, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v Yassin Abdullah Kadi - Joined Cases C 548/10 P, C 593/10 P and C 595/10 P | 18 July 2013 |
| Petition of the Scotch Whisky Association & Others for judicial review of the Alcohol (Minimum Unit Pricing) Scotland Act 2012 - Preliminary reference from Inner House of the Court of Session | AG Bott Opinion - 3 September 2015 Full Court opinion - 23 December 2015 |
| Petition of Andy Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union - Preliminary reference from Inner House of the Court of Session | AG Campos Sanchez-Bordona Opinion - 4 December 2018 Full Court Opinion - 10 December 2018 |
6. Other Cases (AGS representing HM Government)
| Case name | Court | Date of judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Goatley v. Her Majesty’s Advocate | High Court of Justiciary | 12 July 2006 |
| Smith v. Scott, Electoral Registration Officer for the areas of Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling | Registration Appeal Court, Scotland | 24 January 2007 |
| Traynor & Fisher, Petitioners for Judicial Review | Court of Session | 20 April 2007 |
| XY v. Scottish Ministers | Court of Session | 27 April 2007 |
| Megrahi v. Her Majesty’s Advocate | Appeal Court, High Court of Justiciary | Appeal Abandoned |
| Duncan MacLean v HMA | Appeal Court, High Court of Justiciary | 10 February 2010 |
| Petition to Wind Up UK Bankruptcy Ltd | Inner House Court of Session | 21 September 2010 |
| Francis v Pertemps (for HMCTS) | Inner House Court of Session | 29 June 2011 |
| Taqa Bratani Ltd v Secretary of State for Environment & Climate Change | Inner House Court of Session | Appeal withdrawn April 2012 |
| Petition of Scottish Coal Co Ltd for liquidation (for DECC/BIS) | Inner House Court of Session | 12 December 2013 |
| Beggs v Electoral Registration Officer (Ayrshire & Aberdeenshire) (for SoS Justice) | Inner House Court of Session | Appeals withdrawn 25 August 2014 |
| Petition of Fox Solicitors for interim suspension of EAT Fees Order 2013 (for SoS Justice) | Inner House Court of Session | Interim orders 9 August 2013 Petition dismissed 26 February 2015 |
| Hair Brothers v SSE Telecommunications Limited & Anr (for DCMS) | Inner House Court of Session | Action settled 24 June 2015 |
| R (Kiarie & Byndloss) v SSHD | Court of Appeal | 13 October 2014 |
| Av B& C (3rd Defender for SoS Health) | Court of Session | 15 February 2016 |
| SSHD v MM (Uganda) and KO (Nigeria) | Court of Appeal | 19 & 20 April 2016 |
| Sara Slezak v Secretary of State for Work & Pensions | Inner House Court of Session | 27 January 2017 |
| Petroineos Manufacturing Scotland Ltd v Clydeport Operations Ltd & Queens Harbour Master (MOD) | Court of Session | 23 March 2017 |
| Andy Wightman MSP and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union | Inner House Court of Session | 21 September 2018 |
| Petition of Matilda Gifford for Judicial Review | Court of Session | 21 November 2018 |
| Petition of James Craig v The Advocate General and the Scottish Ministers & Petition of Christopher Thomson for Judicial Review | Court of Session | 12 December 2018 |
| The UK Withdrawal From the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill – a Reference by the Attorney General and the Advocate General for Scotland | UK Supreme Court | 13 December 2018 |
| Petition of the Advocate General for Judicial Review (CICA) | Court of Session | 15 October 2019 |
| Petition of Joylon Maugham for suspension and interdict | Court of Session | Petition refused in terms of Joint Minute 9 January 2020 |
| Petition of Dale Vince and Others v the Right Honourable Boris Johnson & the Lord Keen of Elie | Inner House Court of Session | Reclaiming motion refused 15 January 2020 (no judgment) |
| Petition of Dale Vince and Others v the Right Honourable Boris Johnson & the Lord Keen of Elie | Inner House Court of Session | Petition dismissed 15 January 2020 (no judgment) |
| Shakar Omar Ali v Serco Group and Others | Inner House Court of Session | 03 April 2020 |
| Petition of Graham Nassau Gordon Senior-Milne for Judicial Review | Inner HouseCourt of Session | 2 July 2020 |
| Petition of Compassion in World Farming International for Judicial Review | Court of Session | Dismissed 22 September 2020 |
| Martin Keatings v Advocate General and Lord Advocate | Inner House Court of Session | Reclaiming motion refused and cross appeal allowed 30 April 2020. |
| Application in the appeal against conviction following upon a reference from the SCCRC by the representatives of the Late Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed Al Megrahi for disclosure of documents | High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court | Public Interest Immunity Certificate upheld 20 November 2020 |
| Zengsong Gao v Secretary of State for the Home Department | Inner House of the Court of Session | 2 March 2021 |
| Application for Permission to Appeal to UK Supreme Court by the representatives of the Late Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed Al Megrahi | High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court | Permission Application refused 1 April 2021 |
| Petition of Niall Adrian Finucane for Judicial Review | Outer House of the Court of Session | 14 April 2021 |
| Application for Permission to Appeal to UK Supreme Court by the representatives of the Late Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed Al Megrahi | UK Supreme Court | Permission refused 14 July 2022 |
| The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill – a Reference by the Attorney General and the Advocate General for Scotland | UK Supreme Court | 6 October 2021 |
| The European Charter of Local Self-government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill - – a Reference by the Attorney General and the Advocate General for Scotland | UK Supreme Court | 6 October 2021 |
| Appeal under Regulation 16 of the Offshore Petroleum Production and Pipelines (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1999 by Greenpeace Limited | Inner House Court of Session | Appeal refused 7 October 2021 Permission to appeal to UKSC refused by the Inner House on14 January 2022 And by the UKSC on 25 August 2022 |
| Reference by the Lord Advocate of devolution issues under paragraph 34 of Schedule 6 to the Scotland Act 1998: Scottish Independence Reference Bill | UK Supreme Court | 23 November 2022 |
| Sunbeam Fishing Limited for Judicial Review | Outer House Court of Session | 28 February 2023 |
| X against Y and Others | Outer House Court of Session | 2 March 2023 |
| The Scottish Ministers for Judicial Review of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill (Prohibition on Submission for Royal Assent) Order 2023 | Outer House Court of Session | 8 December 2023 |
| SOOY v Secretary of State for the Home Department; RS and Others v Secretary of State for the Home Department | Outer House of the Court of Session | 14 December 2023 |
| Galbraith Trawlers Limited v The Advocate General for Scotland (as representing the Home Office) | Inner House of the Court of Session | 10 January 2024 |
| Singh v Secretary of State for the Home Department | Inner House of the Court of Session | 24 January 2025 |
| Petition of Greenpeace Limited against the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero for judicial review re Rosebank oil field | Court of Session | 30 January 2025 |
| Petition of UPLIFT against the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero for judicial review re Rosebank oil field | Court of Session | 30 January 2025 |
| Petition of Greenpeace Limited against the Secretary of State for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy for judicial review re Jackdaw oil field | Court of Session | 30 January 2025 |
| Petition of Peter & Florence Fanning | Outer House of the Court of Session | 13 June 2025 |
| Petition of EB against Secretary of State for the Home Department (Transfer of claims to the Upper Tribunal) | Upper Tribunal | 24 November 2025 |
| Petition of the lawfulness of the detention of Captain Kalandadze and others aboard the marine vessel known as the Marinera and formerly known as Bella 1 | Outer House of the Court of Session | 27 January 2026 |
| Petition of A and B - Judicial Review of an ongoing failure by the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs to issue a decision on the petitioners’ request for consular assistance on an exceptional basis | Outer House of the Court of Session | 24 April 2026 |
| Craig Murray – Petition for Judicial Review | Outer House of the Court of Session | Sisted 25 August 2026 |
7. Cases in which OAG has appeared representing Commissioners of HMRC
| Case name | Appeal from: | Date of judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Scottish Widows PLC v Commissioners for HMRC | Inner House of the Court of Session | 6 July 2011 |
| RFC 2021 PLC (in liquidation) (formerly the Rangers Football Club Plc) v Advocate General for Scotland | Inner House of the Court of Session | 5 July 2017 |
| Commissioners for HMRC v Taylor Clark Leisure Plc | Inner House of the Court of Session | 11 July 2018 |
| Commissioners for HMRC v Frank A Smart & Sons Ltd | Inner House of the Court of Session | 29 July 2019 |
| The Advocate General representing the Commissioners of HMRC v KE Entertainments Ltd | Inner House of the Court of Session | 24 June 2020 |
| Balhousie Holdings Ltd (Appellant) v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Respondent)(Scotland) | Supreme Court | 31 March 2021 |
| DCM (Optical Holdings) Ltd v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Respondent)(Scotland) | Supreme Court | 12 October 2022 |
| Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Respondent)(Scotland) v NHS Lothian Health Board (Respondent) | Supreme Court | 19 October 2022 |
| Moulsdale t/a Moulsdale Properties (Appellant) v Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Respondent)(Scotland) | Supreme Court | 22 March 2023 |
| Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Respondent)(Scotland) v Vermillion Holdings Ltd (Respondent)(Scotland) | Supreme Court | 25 October 2023 |
| Alexander Watt McCartney v The Advocate General for Scotland, for the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs | Inner House of the Court of Session | 27 January 2026 |
| Petition of the Advocate General for Scotland, for and on behalf of the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, for an order under section 6(4) of the Insolvency Act 1986 revoking the decisions of the creditors and shareholder of Petrofac Facilities Management Limited dated 30 January 2026 approving a Company Voluntary Arrangement | Outer House of the Court of Session | 25 March 2026 |