This document was archived on 31 March 2016

Working with the Attorney General

archived This document was archived on 31 March 2016 Working with the Attorney General Important facts Background • chief legal adviser to the Government; • criminal justice Minister with responsibility The Attorney General is: The Attorney General and the Solicitor General are for the prosecuting authorities; and the Government’s Law Officers. • the chief legal adviser to the Crown (the • independent guardian of the public interest. state); The Attorney General for England and Wales (with his deputy the Solicitor General) is the Minister of The protocol underlines and supports the • a Minister of the Crown with a legal duty the Crown responsible in law for overseeing the main independence of the prosecutors in taking to superintend the Director of Public prosecuting authorities. These authorities are: prosecution decisions, and ensures that there is Prosecutions in England and Wales and the proper public and parliamentary accountability for Director of the Serious Fraud Office; and • the Crown Prosecution Service, which the conduct of prosecutions. Both the Attorney and is headed by the Director of Public Solicitor General remain accountable to Parliament • responsible for a number of independent Prosecutions; and for the prosecuting bodies, including answering public interest functions. Parliamentary Questions. • the Serious Fraud Office, headed by its The Solicitor General supports the Attorney General Director. The protocol between the Attorney General and across the range of his responsibilities. the prosecuting departments is available on the The Law Officers are also the Ministers responsible Attorney General’s Office (AGO) website at: http:// The Attorney General’s Office provides high-quality for the Treasury Solicitor’s Department and HM www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk/Publications/Pages/ legal and strategic policy advice and support to the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, and they CriminalJusticeReports.aspx Attorney and the Solicitor General. oversee the Government Legal Service. In addition, the Law Officers have a public A protocol, produced in collaboration with the The Attorney General for England and Wales also interest role which they exercise independently of directors of the Crown Prosecution Service and the holds the separate office of Advocate General for Government, such as whether to refer an unduly Serious Fraud Office, sets out the relationship of the Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland has its own lenient sentence to the Court of Appeal. This is only Attorney General with these authorities. Attorney General. relevant for certain offences and strict time limits The Attorney General also has a shared A protocolarchived (agreement) was published in July 2009 apply. responsibility, with the Home Secretary and which sets out the relationship between the Attorney The AGO is a small independent department and is Secretary of State for Justice, for the effectiveness General and the Director of Public Prosecutions and made up of a mix of lawyers and administrators. The and performance of the criminal justice system. the Director of the Serious Fraud Office. The protocol Office provides dedicated advice and support to the marked the end of a thorough review process which Law Officers in relation to all their functions. One of the independent public-interest functions the led the Government to conclude that the Attorney Attorney carries out is to consider whether a criminal General should retain the roles of: sentence should be referred to the Court of Appeal as ‘unduly lenient’ (see ‘More information’ section.) This document was archived on 31 March 2016 Can the AGO intervene in a police Who can ask the Attorney More information investigation? General to review an ‘unduly lenient’ sentence? Do the law officers give legal advice No, the Attorney General’s Office has no to members of the public? investigative function. If a person is not happy with Victims, their families, and members of a police force, they may complain to them or the the public, including police and crime No. The Attorney and Solicitor General provide Independent Police Complaints Commission. legal advice to the Government and government commissioners, can contact the Attorney General’s Office if they think a sentence is not departments and cannot advise individual Can the Attorney General deal with members of the public. severe enough. a complaint against the Crown How does the AGO fit in with other Prosecution Service or the Serious If a sentence is considered to be criminal justice organisations? Is it Fraud Office? too low, can the Attorney General part of the Home Office or Ministry refer the case to the Court of Each director has a procedure for dealing with Appeal? of Justice? complaints about the way in which particular cases have been dealt with by their department. If The Attorney General’s Office is an independent Not all types of sentences can be looked at. a complaint is not dealt with satisfactorily by the The Attorney General has the power to ask department which supports the Attorney General, relevant director’s department, the person making who superintends the work of the Directors of the the Court of Appeal to review some sentences the complaint can refer the matter to the Attorney which he thinks are ‘unduly lenient’ – so Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud General. However, the AGO can only look at the Office. lenient that a judge could not reasonably way the complaint was handled, rather than the have passed them. The power only applies to complaint itself. sentences for certain serious offences and Can the Attorney General overrule there is a strict 28-day time limit from the day the Director of Public Prosecutions Does the Attorney General run the the sentence was passed to refer a case. The or Director of the Serious Fraud courts? time limit cannot be extended. You can get Office’s decisions? more information about the Unduly Lenient No, HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) Sentence scheme on the AGO website: http:// Although both Law Officers are often consulted is responsible for the administration of justice www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk/AboutUs/uls/ on key decisions made by the directors, under the in courts and tribunals. HMCTS is an executive Pages/default.aspx protocol which sets out their relationship with the agency of the Ministry of Justice. directors the Law Officers will not intervene unless on grounds of national security. archived