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Departments > Attorney General’s Office
Attorney General’s Office
The Attorney
General and the Solicitor General (with the Advocate General for Scotland)
are known as the Law Officers. They are Ministers of the Crown and sit
in one or other House of Parliament. The functions of the Law Officers
fall into the following main categories.
(1) The Law Officers are the chief legal advisers to government. In that
capacity they are consulted on the most sensitive or difficult legal issues
facing the government, including issues of international and EU law. They
deal with questions of law arising on government Bills and with issues
of legal policy. They also have oversight of major international and domestic
litigation involving the Government. The Attorney General has Ministerial
responsibility for the Treasury Solicitor’s Department (TSol) and
oversight of the wider Government Legal Service.
(2) The Attorney General has statutory responsibility for superintending
the main prosecuting authorities in England and Wales – the Crown
Prosecution Service (headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions) and
the Serious Fraud Office. The Attorney also exercises non-statutory oversight
of the Service Prosecuting Authority and prosecutors in other government
departments. In addition the Attorney General has Ministerial responsibility
for HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.
(3) The Attorney General has, with the Home Secretary and the Secretary
of State for Justice, a shared responsibility for the development of criminal
justice policy. This role in particular reflects the Attorney’s
responsibility for the prosecuting authorities and their key place in
the criminal justice system.
(4) The Law Officers have a number of common law and statutory responsibilities
which they discharge independently of government as “guardians of
the public interest”. These include referring unduly lenient sentences
to the Court of Appeal; applying for orders under the Supreme Court Act
1981 to declare persons vexatious litigants; intervening in certain proceedings
to protect the interests of charities; and bringing proceedings for contempt
of court.
(5) The Attorney General also holds the separate office of Advocate General
for Northern Ireland with a consultative relationship with the Director
of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland and a number of responsibilities
in respect of Assembly Bills, devolution issues and other matters as set
out in Schedule 7 to the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002.
Work of the Legal Team
The Attorney General and Solicitor General are
supported in all their functions by a small department, the Attorney General’s
Office (AGO). AGO is headed by the Director General and comprises teams
of civil and criminal lawyers (about 15 in all), as well as policy and
administrative support staff. AGO lawyers provide legal advice and support
to the Law Officers in connection with their legal, prosecutorial and
public interest functions, including casework. In that capacity they handle
some of the most difficult and sensitive legal issues affecting the government.
The lawyers also work closely with policy officials to support the Law
Officers in their criminal justice and other work. They maintain close
liaison with lawyers elsewhere in the GLS and in the prosecuting authorities.
Recruitment
Most AGO staff are on loan for varying periods
of time from other Government Departments, the Crown Prosecution Service
and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. For this reason AGO does not
directly recruit lawyers.
Further Information
Please visit the Attorney General’s Office’s
website http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk/
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