Second Further evidence submitted by the
Rt Hon Lord Goldsmith QC, Attorney General
FUNCTIONS OF
THE ATTORNEY
GENERAL
(* indicates functions which are wholly
or partly statutory)
1. *Superintendence of and Parliamentary
accountability for:
— Crown Prosecution Service.
— Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.
— Revenue and Customs Prosecutions
Office.
2. *Requirement for Attorney General's consent
to certain prosecutions.
3. *Power to refer unduly lenient sentences
to the Court of Appeal.
4. *Power to refer points of law in criminal
cases to the Court of Appeal.
5. *Power to bring (or consent to) proceedings
for contempt of court.
6. Power to terminate criminal proceedings
on indictment by issuing a nolle prosequi.
7. Superintendence of and Parliamentary
accountability for the Army, Navy and Air Force Prosecuting Authorities.
8. General oversight of the other central
prosecuting authorities (e.g. DTI, HSE, DWP, DEFRA).
9. Criminal justice policy Minister (with
Home Secretary and Lord Chancellor).
10. Legal adviser to the Sovereign (as Her
Majesty's Attorney General).
11. Legal advice to the Crown on peerage
cases.
12. Approval of Royal Charters.
13. Chief legal adviser to the Government.
14. Advice to Ministers involved in legal
proceedings in their official capacity.
15. Consultation with Ministers in legal
proceedings in their personal capacity (in circumstances defined
in the Ministerial Code).
16. Advice to Parliament on certain issues,
including the conduct and discipline of Members, matters of privilege
and procedure, and the meaning and effect of proposed legislation.
17. Receipt of committee papers and advice
to the Committee on Standards and Privileges (Solicitor General
when AG in Lords).
18. Intervention in legal proceedings to
assert the rights of the Parliament.
19. Responsibility and Parliamentary accountability
for the Attorney General's Office.
20. Responsibility and Parliamentary accountability
for the Treasury Solicitor's Department.
21. Ministerial oversight of the Government
Legal Service.
22. Leader of the Bar ex officio.
23. Advocate for the Crown in important
court cases.
24. Appointment of counsel (including Treasury
Counsel) to represent the Crown in criminal and civil proceedings.
25. Appointment of advocates to the court
(independent counsel appointed to assist the court—formerly
called "amicus curiae").
26. *Appointment of special advocates
(counsel appointed to represent the interests of individuals in
certain cases, eg immigration appeals, involving sensitive material
which cannot be disclosed in the ordinary way).
27. *Nominal claimant and defendant in civil
litigation where there is no appropriate Government department
(under Crown Proceedings Act 1947).
28. *Power to bring proceedings to restrain
vexatious litigants.
29. *Power to represent the interests of
charities in certain proceedings.
30. Power to give directions under the Royal
Sign Manual for the disposal of charitable gifts under Wills.
31. *Power to take part in, or instruct
the Queen's Proctor to intervene in, certain family law proceedings
relating to marriage.
32. *Power to make or consent to application
for an order requiring a new inquest.
33. Power to bring or intervene in legal
proceedings in the public interest (eg to seek injunctions restraining
publication of sensitive material where this is contrary to the
public interest).
34. Power to consent to relator actions
(civil proceedings brought to enforce a public law right).
35. *Power to bring certain devolution proceedings
under the Scotland Act and Government of Wales Act.
36. Taking decisions under the Freedom of
Information Act in relation to papers of a previous administration.
37. *Attorney General for Northern Ireland.
38. *Appointment and superintendence of,
and Parliamentary responsibility for, the DPP for Northern Ireland.
39. *Appointment of and Parliamentary accountability
for the Crown Solicitor, Northern Ireland.
40. *Power to certify cases for trial by
jury in Northern Ireland.
41. *Provision of guidance on human rights
to criminal justice agencies in Northern Ireland.
February 2007
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