Scotland. Discharging his duties through the Crown Office, the Lord Advocate is responsible for prosecutions in the High Court of Justiciary

Discharging his duties through the Crown Office, the Lord Advocate is responsible for prosecutions in the High Court of Justiciary, sheriff courts and district courts. There is no general right of private prosecu­tion; with a few minor exceptions crimes and offences may be prosecuted only by the Lord Advocate or his deputes or by the procurators fiscal, who are the Lord Advocate's local officials. The permanent adviser to the Lord Advocate on prosecution matters is,the Crown Agent, who is head of the procurator fiscal service and is assisted in the Crown Office by a staff of legally qualified civil servants, all of whom have had experience as deputy procurators fiscal. Prosecutions in the High Court are prepared by procurators fiscal and Crown Office officials and prosecuted by the Lord Advocate, the Solicitor-General for Scotland (the Lord Advocate's ministerial deputy) and advocates deputy who are collectively known as Crown Counsel. Crimes prepared and tried before the sheriff and district courts, procurators fiscal prosecute them. The police and other law en­forcement agencies investigate crimes and offences and report to the procurator fiscal, who decides whether or not to prosecute, subject to the directions of Crown Counsel.

Under the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1987 a procurator fiscal may make a conditional offer of fixed penalty to an alleged offender in respect of certain minor offences as an alternative to prosecution: the offender is not obliged to accept an offer but if he or she does so the prose­cution loses the right to prosecute.