Ұлыбритания Корольдігінің Бас заң кеңесшілері

Chief legal adviser to the Crown

The Law Officers are the senior legal advisors to His Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom and devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are variously referred to as the Attorney General, Solicitor General, Lord Advocate, or Advocate General depending on seniority and geography though other terms are also in use, such as the Counsel General for Wales. Law Officers in these roles are distinguished by being political appointees, while also being bound by the duties of independence, justice and confidentiality among the other typical professional commitments of lawyers. These roles do not have any direct oversight of prosecutions nor do they directly lead or influence criminal investigations. This is a distinguishing factor between Law Officers and the State Attorneys General of the United States or US Attorney General. Each British Overseas Territory, apart from the British Indian Ocean Territory, also has its own Attorney General. Many Commonwealth countries or those with a history of British colonisation retain these titles, though their particular roles and responsibilities may differ from the roles in the United Kingdom. There are eight Law Offices in the United Kingdom, though not all serve the Westminster Government. She is supported by the Solicitor General for England and Wales. The Scottish Government has two law officers, the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland, with the Lord Advocate being the most senior law officer in Scotland and is the chief legal adviser to the Scottish Government. Following devolution, a new position of Advocate General for Scotland was created to advise the UK Government on matters of Scots law. The post is held by the Attorney General for England and Wales by virtue of office. The Attorney General for Northern Ireland, who is the chief legal adviser to the Northern Ireland Executive. John Larkin QC was appointed to that position on 24 May 2010 by the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, held by Brenda King, since 18 August 2020.

Under the 1999 constitutional reforms brought about by the Scotland Act 1998, the Lord Advocate has become the most senior law officer of the Scottish Government, acting as the chief legal adviser, as well as ultimately being responsible for the functioning of Scots law with all prosecutions on indictment in Scotland being conducted in the name of the Lord Advocate. The Lord Advocate does not attend Scottish cabinet meetings, however, they do see all cabinet papers and may be required to, along with the Solicitor General, attend cabinet meetings where the topic of discussion is relating to a matter of which the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General is responsible for, such as a specific legal aspect or the operations, functioning and funding of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Although not a member of the Scottish cabinet, the Lord Advocate is a member of the Cabinet Sub Committee on Legislation, and contributes to the drafting, delivery and implementation of parliamentary bills and subsequent laws by way of attending Ministerial Bill Management Meetings. and The office holder of the post of Lord Advocate is the chief legal adviser to the Scottish Government and the crown in Scotland. The Lord Advocate is not head of the Faculty of Advocates; that position is held by the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. The position of Lord Advocate is the most senior of the two Scottish law officers, and the Lord Advocate is a member of the Scottish Government. The Lord Advocate serves as the head of the criminal prosecution system and has sole responsibility for the investigation of deaths within Scotland. Additionally, the Lord Advocate is the sole, principal legal adviser to the Scottish Government and acts as the representative of the Scottish Government within civil proceedings and hearings. They have the power to refer a bill of the Scottish Parliament to the Supreme Court within the four week timeframe period to allow the Supreme Court to determine whether any aspect of a Scottish parliamentary bill or any associated provisions of a bill are out–with the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, should it be disputed by any member of either the Scottish Parliament, UK Parliament or any other Scottish or UK politician. The Lord Advocate, held by Dorothy Bain, since 22 June 2021, heads the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and is the chief public prosecutor in Scotland. It is not within the powers of the Scottish Parliament to remove the incumbent Lord Advocate from their post as head of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths. Like other law officers elsewhere in the United Kingdom, the Lord Advocate has a statutory duty in ensuring that all bills passed by the Scottish Parliament are within its legislative competence. The Lord Advocate has specific duties granted under the Scotland Act 1998 which allows them to investigate and resolve legal questions and concerns about the devolved powers of both the Scottish ministers and the Scottish Parliament. The Lord Advocate is assisted by the Solicitor General for Scotland, held by Ruth Charteris, since 22 June 2021. The Solicitor General is the deputy to the Lord Advocate, and act as an assistant to the Lord Advocate undertaking their functions. As with the Lord Advocate, the Solicitor General is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the incumbent First Minister of Scotland. As well as supporting the Lord Advocate in the delivery of the Lord Advocate's functions, the Solicitor General may also exert their statutory and common law powers, where necessary. Both the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General for Scotland are independent from the Scottish Government and its ministers in connection to criminal prosecutions and death investigations within Scotland. The duty to act independently on matters from both the Scottish Government and Scottish ministers is recognised in Section 48(5) of the Scotland Act 1998. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Government is advised on Scots law by the Advocate General for Scotland, and from 1707 to 1998, the Lord Advocate was the chief legal adviser of the British Government and the Crown on Scottish legal matters, both civil and criminal, until the Scotland Act 1998 devolved most domestic affairs to the Scottish Parliament. Since the re–establishment of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government in 1999, there has been a reduced role of the British Government in Scots law. The office of Advocate to the monarch is an ancient one, pre–dating the Treaty of Union 1707 and existed in the pre–union Kingdom of Scotland. The first recorded Lord Advocate was Sir John Ross of Montgrenan, who is formally mentioned in 1483. At this time the post was generally called the King's Advocate and only in the year 1573 was the term "Lord Advocate" first used.

Under the Government of Wales Act 2006, the Counsel General for Wales is the chief legal adviser to, and a member of, the Welsh Government.

Some subjects are entitled to have an attorney general: these include a queen consort and the Prince of Wales, who has an Attorney General for the Duchy of Cornwall. There is also an Attorney General of the Duchy of Lancaster, which is a mostly landed inheritance that is held by the Crown (in trust for the monarch) and administered independently of the monarch under the supervision of a government minister, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Before the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the legal advisers to the Crown in the Courts of Ireland were the Attorney General for Ireland and the Solicitor General for Ireland. These offices became redundant in 1921. The Crown also had a legal adviser for the High Court of Admiralty, known as the Admiralty Advocate, but this office lapsed in 1875 when the Admiralty Court became part of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice. The Crown's representative in the ecclesiastical courts of England was the King's Advocate (or Queen's Advocate when the monarch was female). This office has been vacant since the resignation of its last holder in 1872. Though not defunct, the Judge Advocate General was ranked among the Law Officers until the beginning of the 19th century.

FlagArmsNameLaw OfficerAnguillaDwight Horsford, Attorney General of AnguillaBermudaKathy Lynn Simmonds, Attorney General of BermudaBritish Antarctic TerritoryJames Woods QC, Attorney General British Antarctic TerritoryBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryN/A The territory is administered from London. Paul Candler is HM Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsDawn J Smith, Attorney General of the British Virgin IslandsCayman IslandsSamuel W. Bulgin QC, Attorney General of the Cayman IslandsFalkland IslandsSimon Young, Joint Attorney General of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and the Falkland IslandsGibraltarMichael Llamas QC, Attorney General of Gibraltar MontserratSheree Jemmotte Rodney, Attorney General of MontserratPitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno IslandsSimon Mount, Attorney General of Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands. Allen Cansick, Attorney General for Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSimon Young, Attorney General and Legal Advisor of the Sovereign Base, Akrotiri and DhekeliaTurks and Caicos IslandsHon. Rhondalee Moreen Braithwaite Knowles, Attorney General of the Turks and Caicos Islands.