St Helena Government

ST HELENA GOVERNMENT TERMS OF REFERENCE CROWN COUNSEL

GENERAL BACKGROUND

St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha comprise three territories forming a single territorial grouping under the Crown as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. The three separate islands each has its own system of Government under a shared Governor, suite of superior courts, and Attorney General.

This appointment of Crown Counsel (‘CC’) is for St. Helena, but the post-holder will be required to assist the Attorney General in connection with his responsibilities for Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.

The Island of St. Helena is of volcanic origin and comprises 47 square miles of rugged but beautiful terrain, rising from the depths of the tropical South Atlantic Ocean. St. Helena is over 4,000 miles from the UK, 700 miles southeast of Ascension, and 1,700 miles from South Africa. The island's total population is around 4,000 persons, about 25% of whom live in the capital, Jamestown. The climate is kept mild and equable by the southeast trade winds and temperatures range from 14-32 degrees centigrade in the summer and 14-26 degrees centigrade in winter. The economy is small and based mainly on offshore employment, agriculture, fishing and more recently a small but growing volume of tourism. Most commodities are imported and St. Helena relies heavily on UK Aid to support essential services and livelihoods.

St. Helena has no airfield, so access is by sea alone - the only regular/scheduled mode of access is via the RMS (‘Royal Mail Ship’) St. Helena. She typically calls about 25 times a year, connecting the Island with Ascension and Cape Town and occasionally Tristan da Cunha.

Following a feasibility assessment of access options, HMG agreed to proceed with the procurement of an international airport for St Helena. Construction of the airport has now commenced and it is hope that completion will be in early 2016. Four conditions were agreed to prior to the final agreement on construction. These conditions were laid before the UK Parliament in a Written Ministerial Statement in July 2010. Three of these conditions related to the procurement of the airport contract, however the fourth relates to the liberalisation of the island’s economy to attract inward investment and tourism. DFID and SHG signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in December 2010 which sets out the policy and institutional reforms SHG has committed to undertake in order to meet this fourth condition. This condition is an ongoing commitment.

KEY ISSUES

The Attorney General (‘AG’) is the principal legal adviser to the Governor and to the Government of St. Helena. He is virtute officii, also Attorney General of both Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. In St. Helena, the AG is supported by the Solicitor General (‘SG’), who is, effectively, Deputy Attorney General.

Ascension has a separate Solicitor General, resident there, and the team of Law Officers is currently completed by a full-time Legislative Draftsperson working remotely from Florida. The AG is ultimately responsible for all criminal proceedings (with a Constitutional prerogative of commencing proceedings and of taking over proceedings commenced by others) and is the nominal party – plaintiff or defendant – in all civil litigation by or against the Crown. In practice, most litigation work is managed by the SG and it is intended that assisting with this will be a core function of the CC including assisting with Magistrates’ Court advocacy.

In addition, the AG has overall responsibility for legislative drafting and for ensuring that the Laws of the Territory are kept up to date. His Terms of Reference require him to provide legal advice, as necessary, to the holders of a number of statutory offices. In all of this, he is assisted by the SG, who will in turn be assisted by the CC.

Beyond the realms of domestic law, it falls to the Law Officers to ensure that Treaty requirements, including reporting obligations, are met.

The workload of the Law Officers has increased progressively in recent years, fuelled by factors such as:  Improved availability of legal advice and assistance to the public;  The introduction of a new Constitution in 2009, with extensive Human Right’s provisions;  St. Helena Government becoming responsible for procurement of contractors, personnel, and other resources which were previously procured by the UK Department for International Development; and  Drivers for modernizing both the legal system and the economy in the quest for progress towards economic self-sufficiency in the medium-to-long term

This progressive increase is likely to continue throughout the foreseeable future: there will be:  additional procurement and contracting issues arising (both directly and indirectly) from the air access project;  contractual and other legal work arising from the Government’s plans to divest itself of various assets and functions;  increased volume of employment issues and litigation; and  law reform measures to support each of the above; and there might be an increase in criminal prosecutions as the population (both settled and transient) grows.

The post of CC is intended to augment the in-house capacity of the Law Officers so as to cope with these and other emerging issues, and minimize the need to call upon locum cover and other external support.

ORGANISATIONAL ISSUES

The AG is a (non-voting) member of both the Executive Council and the Legislative Council; and an adviser to the Governor, Council Committees and all Government Departments. In line management terms, he reports directly to the Governor. The CC will work closely with the SG at an operational level, but will formally report to the AG.

The salary for the post reflects the expectation that the employee may be appointed Acting S olicitor General if it becomes appropriate to do so. No additional payment or allowance will b e made in respect of such appointments. OBJECTIVES

The CC will assist the AG and SG in pursuit of the Attorney General’s objectives to:-

1. provide comprehensive, reliable, and timely legal advice to all organs of Government, responding pro-actively to issues as they arise or emerge;

2. conduct criminal prosecutions in accordance with the established principles of criminal justice in which the prosecutor is a ‘minister of justice’ whose ultimate duty is to the due administration of justice;

3. provide an effective and professional service in the conduct of civil proceedings by or against the Crown.

The CC is expected to be a ‘self-starter’, capable of acting on his or her own initiative, but willing to seek assistance if in doubt. He or she will work closely with experienced colleagues on a day-to-day basis, under the general supervision and direction of the Attorney General.

The workload is divided amongst the Law Officers according to its nature and complexity, and having regard to individuals’ current workloads at any given time; it is both varied and unpredictable; CC’s share of it will include:

Conduct advocacy work for the Government:  Undertake criminal prosecutions on behalf of the Crown, in the Magistrates' Court (usually on a weekly basis, but as occasion demands);  Similarly, in appropriate cases, in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal;  Conduct civil litigation brought by, or against, the Crown (as occasion demands)  Conduct of employment law issues including conduct of matters before the Labour Regulating Authority.

Undertake other legal work for the Government:

 Provide general legal advice, including the provision of opinions to Departments within the Government.  Draft contracts/agreements and other legal instruments (including, as necessary, being involved in any negotiation process leading up to the preparation of such contracts/agreements).  Advise Members of the Legislative Council regarding actual or potential Council business, including Bills, with respect to any queries or clarifications relating thereto.  Assist with legislative drafting.  Participate in public or other consultative processes on legal issues at different fora, including meetings at which draft legislation is being discussed.  Generally assist the Attorney General with the discharge of his responsibility to provide a comprehensive legal service to the Governor and the St. Helena Government; and  Perform such other duties (appropriate to the post) as may be required by the Attorney General or the Solicitor General from time to time.  Interact with would-be investors on legally related planning/immigration issues that might arise. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE Essential:-  Solicitor or Barrister qualified in England and Wales (or comparable qualification in S cotland, Northern Ireland, or a Commonwealth or EU jurisdiction);  Holder of a current practising certificate (or equivalent, depending upon professional qualification);  Fluency in written and spoken English  Good IT skills, including familiarity with all components of Microsoft Office

Desirable:-  A minimum of two years’ post qualification experience, including advocacy;  Experience of contracts/commercial law  Experience of employment law issues;  Early availability;  Experience of living and working in a small island community

Competencies

Under the SHG Competency framework, this post holder is required to have the competencies as outlined in the attached annex. 

Annex SHG Competency Framework Levels

Professional Development

 Requirements for Continuous Professional Development met and when necessary submitted to Professional Institute in order to continue recognition of professional status

Planning and delivery of work

 Manages own work activities so that work is delivered in an efficient and productive way. Ensures quality or service standards required are maintained.  Ask questions to clarify expectations when necessary.  Keeps relevant parties informed on the progress of a plan or programme

Analysis and use of information

 Is able to identify when information received is relevant to and should be used in completing an activity.  Follows guidelines for identifying problems.  Gathers and summarises data when required.

Decision making

 Solves problems that have significant short-term implications for the organisation.  Assesses the impact of decisions.  Identifies causes rather than just symptoms to inform solutions.  Uses trends and patterns in information for evidence based decisions.  Confident in making decisions within policy guidelines  Assembles available knowledge to ensure evidence based decisions.

Working with others

 Offers support to colleagues without being asked.  Asks for support from colleagues when necessary.  Builds good relationships with a range of people.  Engages effectively with others in order to understand their requirements and develop appropriate solutions/improvements.  Raises difficult issues with others in order to resolve them.

Communication  Varies language and content to ensure understanding of audience.  Facilitates understanding by explanation and example.  Highlights key points for summary from detailed and complex documents

Influencing and persuading  Encourages and provides constructive feedback to improve performance.  Ensures alternative approaches to work are effective in meeting the organisation and individual needs  Remains constructive when disagreeing or challenging.  Challenges inappropriate employee behaviours.

Dealing with change

 Supports individuals in their team through periods of change.  Listens and responds to constructive feedback.  Initiates new ways of doing things.  Recognises and deals with obstacles to change.  Promotes goals or new initiatives to others.

Continuous improvement

 Makes business and efficiency improvements through use of appropriate systems and tools.  Able to coach and develop individuals  Shares knowledge and experience with others  Manages own development and performance  Learns lessons from both successes and failures

Managing resources

 Promotes and enforces appropriate business rules.  Deals with varied situations with limited guidance.