Attorney General for England and Wales
Encyclopedia
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown
. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales
, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in England and Wales
. The current Attorney General is Dominic Grieve
, QC
, MP
.
The position of Attorney General has existed since at least 1243, when records show a professional attorney was hired to represent the King's interests in court. The position first took on a political role in 1461 when the holder of the office was summoned to the House of Lords
to advise the government there on legal matters. In 1673 the Attorney General officially became the Crown's advisor and representative in legal matters, although still specialising in litigation rather than advice. The beginning of the twentieth century saw a shift away from litigation and more towards legal advice. Today prosecutions are carried out by the Crown Prosecution Service
and the other prosecuting authorities and most legal advice to government departments is provided by the Government Legal Service, both under the supervision of the Attorney General.
The job of the Attorney General is a demanding one, and Sir Patrick Hastings
wrote while serving that "to be a law officer is to be in hell". Duties include superintending the Crown Prosecution Service
, the Serious Fraud Office, and other government lawyers with the authority to prosecute cases. Additionally, the Attorney General superintends the Treasury Solicitor's Department
, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, The Service Prosecuting Authority and the strategic body, the National Fraud Authority
. The Attorney advises the government, individual government departments and individual government ministers on legal matters, answering questions in Parliament and bringing "unduly lenient" sentences and points of law to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales
. Since the passing of the Law Officers Act 1997 duties can be delegated to the Solicitor General, and any actions are treated as if they came from the Attorney General.
was earning £7,000 a year as Attorney General he was pleased to give up the office and become Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
because of the smaller workload, despite the heavily reduced pay. The office first took on a political element in 1461, when the holder was summoned by writ to the House of Lords
to advise the government on legal matters. This was also the first time that the office was referred to as the office of the "Attorney General". The custom of summoning the Attorney General to the Lords by writ when appointed continues unbroken to this day, although until the appointment of Lord Williams of Mostyn in 1999, no Attorney General had sat in the Lords since 1700, and no Attorney General had obeyed the writ since 1742.
During the sixteenth century the Attorney General was used to pass messages between the House of Lords
and House of Commons, although he was viewed suspiciously by the Commons and seen as a tool of the Lords and the King. In 1673 the Attorney General began to take up a seat in the House of Commons, and since then it has been convention to ensure that all Attorneys General are members of the House of Commons or House of Lords, although there is no requirement that they be so. During the constitutional struggle centred around the Royal Declaration of Indulgence
in 1672 and 1673 the Attorney General officially became the Crown's representative in legal matters.
In 1890 the ability of an Attorney General to continue practising privately was formally taken away, turning the office-holder into a dedicated representative of the government. Since the beginning of the twentieth century the role of the Attorney General has moved away from representing the Crown and government directly in court, and it has become more of a political and ministerial post, with the Attorney General serving as a legal advisor to both the government as a whole and individual government departments. Despite this change, until the passing of the Homicide Act 1957
the Attorney General was bound to prosecute any and all poisoning cases.
However, in recent times the Attorney General has exceptionally conducted litigation in person before the courts, for instance before the House of Lords in A and Others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, where the legality of the Government's detention of terrorist suspects at Belmarsh was at issue.
rather than a law, and for a short time the Attorney General did sit in cabinet, starting with Lord Birkenhead
in 1915 and ending with Douglas Hogg
in 1928. There is nothing that prohibits Attorneys-General from attending meetings of the cabinet, and on occasion they have been asked to attend meetings to advise the government on the best course of action legally. Despite this it is considered preferable to exclude Attorneys General from cabinet meetings so as to draw a distinct line between them and the political decisions on which they are giving legal advice. As a government minister, the Attorney General is directly answerable to Parliament.
He or she is also the chief legal advisor of the Crown and its government, and has the primary role of advising the government on any legal repercussions of their actions, either orally at meetings or in writing. As well as the government as a whole, he also advises individual departments. Although the primary role is no longer one of litigation, the Attorney General still represents the Crown and government in court in some select, particularly important cases, and chooses the Treasury Counsel who handle most government legal cases. By convention, he represents the government in every case in front of the International Court of Justice
. The Attorney General also superintends the Crown Prosecution Service
and appoints its head, the Director of Public Prosecutions
. Decisions to prosecute are taken by the Crown Prosecution Service other than in exceptional cases i.e. where the Attorney General's consent is required by statute or in cases of relating to national security. An example of a consent case is the Campbell Case
, which led to the fall of the first Labour government in 1924.
The Attorney General also superintends the Treasury Solicitors
, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office, and the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office. The Attorney General also has powers to bring "unduly lenient" sentences and points of law to the Court of Appeal
, issue writs of nolle prosequi
to cancel criminal prosecutions, supervise other prosecuting bodies (such as DEFRA
) and advise individual ministers facing legal action as a result of their official actions. He or she is responsible for making applications to the court restraining vexatious litigants, and may intervene in litigation to represent the interests of charity, or the public interest in certain family law cases. He or she is also officially the leader of the Bar of England and Wales, although this is merely custom and has no duties or rights attached to it. The Attorney General's duties have long been considered strenuous, with Sir Patrick Hastings
saying that "to be a law officer is to be in hell". Since the passing of the Law Officers Act 1997, any duties of the Attorney General can be delegated to the Solicitor General for England and Wales
, and his or her actions are treated as coming from the Attorney General.
Law Officers of the Crown
The Law Officers of the Crown are the chief legal advisers to the Crown, and advise and represent the various governments in the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth Realms. In England and Wales, Northern Ireland and most Commonwealth and colonial governments, the chief law officer of the...
. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
. The current Attorney General is Dominic Grieve
Dominic Grieve
Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve, QC MP is a British Conservative politician, barrister and Queen's Counsel.He is the Member of Parliament for Beaconsfield and the Attorney General for England and Wales and the Advocate General for Northern Ireland.-Early life:Grieve was born in Lambeth, the son of...
, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
The position of Attorney General has existed since at least 1243, when records show a professional attorney was hired to represent the King's interests in court. The position first took on a political role in 1461 when the holder of the office was summoned to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
to advise the government there on legal matters. In 1673 the Attorney General officially became the Crown's advisor and representative in legal matters, although still specialising in litigation rather than advice. The beginning of the twentieth century saw a shift away from litigation and more towards legal advice. Today prosecutions are carried out by the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
and the other prosecuting authorities and most legal advice to government departments is provided by the Government Legal Service, both under the supervision of the Attorney General.
The job of the Attorney General is a demanding one, and Sir Patrick Hastings
Patrick Hastings
Sir Patrick Gardiner Hastings KC was a British barrister and politician noted for his long and highly successful career as a barrister and his short stint as Attorney General. He was educated at Charterhouse School until 1896, when his family moved to continental Europe...
wrote while serving that "to be a law officer is to be in hell". Duties include superintending the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
, the Serious Fraud Office, and other government lawyers with the authority to prosecute cases. Additionally, the Attorney General superintends the Treasury Solicitor's Department
Treasury Solicitor's Department
The Treasury Solicitor's Department is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Service.The Department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor. This office goes back several centuries...
, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, The Service Prosecuting Authority and the strategic body, the National Fraud Authority
National Fraud Authority
The National Fraud Authority is an executive agency of the United Kingdom government responsible for increasing protection for the UK economy from the harm caused by fraud. Formerly the National Strategic Fraud Authority, it was set up in October 2008 in response to the government's Fraud Review in...
. The Attorney advises the government, individual government departments and individual government ministers on legal matters, answering questions in Parliament and bringing "unduly lenient" sentences and points of law to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
. Since the passing of the Law Officers Act 1997 duties can be delegated to the Solicitor General, and any actions are treated as if they came from the Attorney General.
History
The origins of the office are unknown, but the earliest record of an "attorney of the crown" is from 1243, when a professional attorney named Laurence Del Brok was paid to prosecute cases for the King, who could not appear in courts where he had an interest. During the early days of the office the holder was largely concerned with representing the Crown in litigation, and held no political role or duties. Although a valuable position, the Attorney General was expected to work incredibly hard; although Francis NorthFrancis North, 1st Baron Guilford
Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford PC KC was the third son of the 4th Baron North, and was created Baron Guilford in 1683, after becoming Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in succession to Lord Nottingham....
was earning £7,000 a year as Attorney General he was pleased to give up the office and become Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
The Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, was the second highest common law court in the English legal system until 1880, when it was dissolved. As such, the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was one of the highest judicial officials in England, behind only the Lord...
because of the smaller workload, despite the heavily reduced pay. The office first took on a political element in 1461, when the holder was summoned by writ to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
to advise the government on legal matters. This was also the first time that the office was referred to as the office of the "Attorney General". The custom of summoning the Attorney General to the Lords by writ when appointed continues unbroken to this day, although until the appointment of Lord Williams of Mostyn in 1999, no Attorney General had sat in the Lords since 1700, and no Attorney General had obeyed the writ since 1742.
During the sixteenth century the Attorney General was used to pass messages between the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and House of Commons, although he was viewed suspiciously by the Commons and seen as a tool of the Lords and the King. In 1673 the Attorney General began to take up a seat in the House of Commons, and since then it has been convention to ensure that all Attorneys General are members of the House of Commons or House of Lords, although there is no requirement that they be so. During the constitutional struggle centred around the Royal Declaration of Indulgence
Royal Declaration of Indulgence
The Royal Declaration of Indulgence was Charles II of England's attempt to extend religious liberty to Protestant nonconformists and Roman Catholics in his realms, by suspending the execution of the penal laws that punished recusants from the Church of England...
in 1672 and 1673 the Attorney General officially became the Crown's representative in legal matters.
In 1890 the ability of an Attorney General to continue practising privately was formally taken away, turning the office-holder into a dedicated representative of the government. Since the beginning of the twentieth century the role of the Attorney General has moved away from representing the Crown and government directly in court, and it has become more of a political and ministerial post, with the Attorney General serving as a legal advisor to both the government as a whole and individual government departments. Despite this change, until the passing of the Homicide Act 1957
Homicide Act 1957
The Homicide Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was enacted as a partial reform of the common law offence of murder in English law by abolishing the doctrine of constructive malice , reforming the partial defence of provocation, and by introducing the partial defences...
the Attorney General was bound to prosecute any and all poisoning cases.
However, in recent times the Attorney General has exceptionally conducted litigation in person before the courts, for instance before the House of Lords in A and Others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, where the legality of the Government's detention of terrorist suspects at Belmarsh was at issue.
Role and duties
The Attorney General is a non-cabinet minister who leads the Attorney General's Office. The rule that no Attorney General may be a cabinet minister is a political conventionConstitutional convention (political custom)
A constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state. In some states, notably those Commonwealth of Nations states that follow the Westminster system and whose political systems derive from British constitutional law, most...
rather than a law, and for a short time the Attorney General did sit in cabinet, starting with Lord Birkenhead
F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead GCSI, PC, KC , best known to history as F. E. Smith , was a British Conservative statesman and lawyer of the early 20th century. He was a skilled orator, noted for his staunch opposition to Irish nationalism, his wit, pugnacious views, and hard living...
in 1915 and ending with Douglas Hogg
Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham
Douglas McGarel Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham PC was a British lawyer and Conservative politician.-Background:...
in 1928. There is nothing that prohibits Attorneys-General from attending meetings of the cabinet, and on occasion they have been asked to attend meetings to advise the government on the best course of action legally. Despite this it is considered preferable to exclude Attorneys General from cabinet meetings so as to draw a distinct line between them and the political decisions on which they are giving legal advice. As a government minister, the Attorney General is directly answerable to Parliament.
He or she is also the chief legal advisor of the Crown and its government, and has the primary role of advising the government on any legal repercussions of their actions, either orally at meetings or in writing. As well as the government as a whole, he also advises individual departments. Although the primary role is no longer one of litigation, the Attorney General still represents the Crown and government in court in some select, particularly important cases, and chooses the Treasury Counsel who handle most government legal cases. By convention, he represents the government in every case in front of the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
. The Attorney General also superintends the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
and appoints its head, the Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
. Decisions to prosecute are taken by the Crown Prosecution Service other than in exceptional cases i.e. where the Attorney General's consent is required by statute or in cases of relating to national security. An example of a consent case is the Campbell Case
Campbell Case
The Campbell Case of 1924 involved charges against a British Communist newspaper editor for alleged "incitement to mutiny" caused by his publication of a provocative open letter to members of the military...
, which led to the fall of the first Labour government in 1924.
The Attorney General also superintends the Treasury Solicitors
Treasury Solicitor's Department
The Treasury Solicitor's Department is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Service.The Department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor. This office goes back several centuries...
, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office, and the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office. The Attorney General also has powers to bring "unduly lenient" sentences and points of law to the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
, issue writs of nolle prosequi
Nolle prosequi
Nolle prosequi is legal term of art and a Latin legal phrase meaning "to be unwilling to pursue", a phrase amounting to "please do not prosecute". It is a phrase used in many common law criminal prosecution contexts to describe a prosecutor's decision to voluntarily discontinue criminal charges...
to cancel criminal prosecutions, supervise other prosecuting bodies (such as DEFRA
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
) and advise individual ministers facing legal action as a result of their official actions. He or she is responsible for making applications to the court restraining vexatious litigants, and may intervene in litigation to represent the interests of charity, or the public interest in certain family law cases. He or she is also officially the leader of the Bar of England and Wales, although this is merely custom and has no duties or rights attached to it. The Attorney General's duties have long been considered strenuous, with Sir Patrick Hastings
Patrick Hastings
Sir Patrick Gardiner Hastings KC was a British barrister and politician noted for his long and highly successful career as a barrister and his short stint as Attorney General. He was educated at Charterhouse School until 1896, when his family moved to continental Europe...
saying that "to be a law officer is to be in hell". Since the passing of the Law Officers Act 1997, any duties of the Attorney General can be delegated to the Solicitor General for England and Wales
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
, and his or her actions are treated as coming from the Attorney General.
See also
- Attorney General of the United KingdomAttorney General of the United KingdomThere is no position of Attorney General of the United Kingdom, as England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different legal systems.The term Attorney General when used in the United Kingdom may refer to:...
- List of Attorneys General for England and Wales
- Solicitor General for England and WalesSolicitor General for England and WalesHer Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...