Ruth Barbara CharterisKC (born 1973) is a Scottish advocate who has served as Solicitor General for Scotland since 2021. In addition to being the Solicitor General for Scotland, she has been a legally qualified chair of the Scottish Social Services Council since 2017,[1] and has served as Chair of the Fitness to Practice Panel of the SSSC since 2017.[2]
Charteris was admitted as an advocate in 2000 and came to the Bar on completion of her post as Legal Assistant to the Lord President of the Court of Session. Charteris served as an ad hocAdvocate Depute from 2010 to 2016. She served as a Standing Junior to the Scottish Government from 2012 and Second Standing Junior to the Scottish Government from 2016 to 2020.[4] After her appointment as Queen's Counsel, she served as a full-time Advocate Depute from 2020 until her appointment as Solicitor General.[5][6][7]
Scottish Social Services Council
Charteris has been a legally qualified chair of the Scottish Social Services Council since 2017.[8] She has been Chair of the Fitness to Practice Panel of the SSSC since 2017.[9]
Solicitor General, 2021–present
Charteris alongside Dorothy Bain KC, following their appointment as Scotland's law officers at the Court of Session, June 2021
The appointment of Charteris to the post of Solicitor General for Scotland, and Dorothy BainKC to the position of Lord Advocate marks the first time that both of Scotland's top law officers have been held by two women at the same time. On nominating Charteris for Solicitor General, nominating First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament she was "extremely pleased to be seeking parliament’s agreement to recommend Dorothy Bain QC and Ruth Charteris QC as Scotland’s law officers", citing Charteris' career as "a Standing Junior to the Scottish Government from 2012 and was Second Standing Junior to the Scottish Government from 2016 – 2020. On taking Silk she moved into Crown Office to become a full-time Advocate Depute" as one of the reasons for her nomination.
Duties
Sturgeon acknowledged that both "Ms Bain and Ms Charteris will take their posts at a time of unprecedented challenge, given the political climate and given that threats to the rule of law have been experienced across the globe".[12]
She was selected as the annual speaker at the Annual Reflections Lecture at the Edinburgh Foundation for Women in Law event.[13] In 2023, as Solicitor General for Scotland, she was instructed by First Minister Humza Yousaf to "fully investigate" claims that the Scottish Government had not handed over WhatsApp communications and text messages which were exchanged between senior government officials during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland, following claims made during the United Kingdom Covid-19 inquiry. Yousaf had claimed that it was his "understanding" that all messages required had been handed over.[14]
Controversies
In May 2023, the Scottish Government received criticism after it was reported that both Charteris and the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain, had gone on holidays abroad at the expense of the taxpayer. Charteris was found to have gone to both Mauritius and Italy, whilst Bain flew to Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria, at a cost of £1,430 to the taxpayer. Charteris' trips cost the taxpayer £7,228, with the Scottish Government insisting that this "represented good value for money", as it "boosted Scotland's international profile".[15]
