Alan Charles Macpherson Johnston was born in Stirling in 1942 and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Loretto School.

He later received his law degree from Edinburgh University after earning a BA in English Law from Jesus College, Cambridge, and was a popular figure in the New Town, his boyhood home.

After being called to the bar in 1967, Lord Johnston served as Standing Junior Counsel to the Scottish Home and Health Department and was appointed an Advocate Depute from 1979 to 1982. During this time he was appointed Queen's Counsel.

Lord Johnston also served as dean of the Faculty of Advocates from 1989-1994. It was during this period that he established himself as a force in the legal profession, overseeing the education and practice of Scotland's most senior courtroom lawyers.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Lord Dunpark, he was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice in 1994. He remained a judge until his death from a heart attack on June 17. The culmination of his legal career saw him sworn onto the Privy Council in 2005.

He was involved in a number of high-profile cases, including the appeal of wife-killer Nat Fraser.

He also presided over the trial of Shirley McKie, in which the former Strathclyde police officer earned the distinction of being the first person to successfully challenge fingerprint identification in court in a hundred years.

Well known for his good humour and straightforward delivery, Lord Johnston was a hugely popular figure in the legal profession, internationally and in Edinburgh.

A close friend and colleague, Lord Wheatley, described him as a man of "total integrity" who had an "encyclopaedic knowledge" of case law.

He added: "His mind was always alert – he could pick out the salient points in an argument and go straight to the core of a problem: he was rarely wrong. Alan had a huge involvement in the future of the legal profession in Scotland and he is a tremendous loss."

Lord Johnston's reputation stretched across the world. He was a honorary member of the American Bar Association and visited the country frequently for over a decade, attending legal conferences and delivering lectures.

He worked tirelessly to enhance the reputation of the legal profession, particularly in Scotland, and regularly hosted informal evenings for colleagues, the press and foreign legal representatives.

He often spoke out for Scotland and Scots Law, particularly with regards to the relationship between Scots Law and European Law.

In a recent and far-ranging speech, he said: "Scotland is one of the stateless nations of Europe. It is unique in having a legal system without a legislature. As such it has to rely on the good offices of a political establishment which knows little about it. Most Europeans, and the English, see us as the northern circuit of the English legal system."

Lord Johnston was a keen sportsman and devoted family man and is survived by his wife Anthea, nee Blackburn, and the couple's three sons.