149 Society: Governance and policy
Attorney General’s Office
A small but highly specialist ministerial department, with several crucial legal functions
I
t is one of the smallest government departments—currently employing around 40 people, most of whom are based in
Whitehall, London—but the office of the Attorney General is one of the oldest positions in government. Te role has been in existence since at least King Edward II’s reign in the early 14th century, and its origins may date back as far as 1243. Te Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is a specialist
ministerial department serving the Attorney General and the Solicitor General (the Law Officers). Te Law Officers are the government’s chief legal advisers. Tey may be called on to advise cabinet colleagues on any aspect of domestic, European or international law, and work in partnership with the Advocate General for Scotland whose responsibilities include advising the UK government on matters of Scottish law. “Te AGO comprises a high-performing, multidisciplinary,
engaged and resilient team, around half of whom are lawyers, advising and supporting the Law Officers on all aspects of their work,” says Director-General of the AGO, and Legal Secretary to the Law Officers, Rowena Collins Rice. “We pride ourselves on our legal professional excellence and problem-solving creativity, sophisticated political and handling awareness, and smart and modern ways of working.”
Confidential legal advice By long constitutional convention, the advice of the Law Officers —and even the fact of whether or not they have been consulted in any particular matter—is kept strictly confidential. Tat is in recognition of the public interest in ensuring that governments always have the most full, free and uninhibited access to legal advice on any matter at any time, and that government decision- making is as legally well-informed as possible. Te Law Officers also have superintendence responsibilities
in relation to public prosecutions, including answering in parliament for the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office. Tey take a close interest in any matters of criminal justice policy and practice, bearing on the role of the prosecutors. In addition, they perform a range of civil and criminal law litigation functions exercisable in the public interest, including
“The AGO comprises a high-performing, multidisciplinary, engaged and resilient team, around half of whom are lawyers”
referring sentences that may be unduly lenient to the Court of Appeal, bringing proceedings for contempt of court and making applications for fresh inquests. “Our unique contribution to public life is to make
law and politics work together at the heart of the UK constitution,” says Collins Rice. “We do that through our stewardship of the public interest in the Rule of Law, which is itself a fundamental principle of our unwritten constitution and a guarantee of our historic democracy and liberties.”
Making law and politics work Te Attorney General is ministerial head of the government legal profession and responsible for the Government Legal Department, which now includes most of the Whitehall departmental advisory legal teams and government litigators. He or she is also head of the Bar and exercises a leadership role in relation to the wider legal professions. In recent times, the Attorney General has additionally been appointed to the role of Advocate General for Northern Ireland. Te common theme in all of the work of the AGO is the public interest in the Rule of Law, the fundamental constitutional principle that ensures that governments operate effectively in balance with the powers of parliament and of the courts. With a seat at the cabinet table, and at the same time
responsible for important justice functions that require a profound understanding of prosecutorial independence, of the independence of the judiciary and of the sovereignty of parliament, the Attorney General represents, in a very real and practical way, law at the heart of government. “It is a privilege,” says Collins Rice, “to be able to support
the Law Officers as holders of very ancient offices performing a vital constitutional role in a complex modern world.” — www.
gov.uk/ago
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