The Scottish Parliament is made up of 129 elected Members of the Scottish Parliament, known as MSP's. One of the MSP's is elected by the Parliament to serve as the Presiding Officer. There are also two deputy Presiding Officers.

The party, or parties, with the majority of seats in the Parliament forms the Scottish government, known as the Scottish Executive. This is made up of

• The First Minister. The MSP's select a nominee who is formally appointed by The Queen. As head of the Scottish Executive, the First Minister has a direct relationship with the Sovereign in appointing ministers, law officers and judges of the Court of Session. The First Minister is in effect Scotland’s counterpart of the Prime Minister in the UK Parliament.
  
  
• The Scottish Law Officers. There are two Scottish Law Officers, the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland who are part of the Scottish Executive. They advise the Scottish Executive on legal matters and represent its interest in court. The Lord Advocate is head of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths in Scotland. Since their work is highly specialised, it may not be possible to appoint them from amongst the elected MSP's. If this is case, they can still participate in the work of the Parliament but cannot vote.
  
  
• The Scottish Ministers. The First Minister determines the number of Ministers and their responsibilities, also known as portfolios and appoints them. The First Minister can appoint Junior Ministers to assist the Scottish Ministers with government business as well.

The above applies to the political process in the United Kingdom and follows the laws of the UK.