84-697: 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
168-675: A petit jury by justices of the King's Bench , Common Pleas or Exchequer as they toured the circuits conducting the assizes . Individuals could be prosecuted upon indictment by prosecutors ranging from the Attorney-general or Solicitor-general , king's serjeants or attorneys, prosecutors instructed by the sheriff or justice of the peace. It was more likely that the Attorney-General or Solicitor-General would be involved in prosecutions of serious crimes such as high treason at
252-621: 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
336-472: A case alone, properly directed and acting in accordance with the law, is more likely than not to convict the defendant of the charge alleged. The second question asked is: Is a prosecution required in the public interest? These questions must be answered in this order; if there is insufficient evidence, the public interest in prosecuting is irrelevant. According to the code, if there is insufficient evidence to prosecute, no further action will be taken against
420-478: A case, such as failing to disclose evidence, can result in the courts either acquitting a defendant or quashing the conviction on appeal. When an appeal against conviction or sentence is lodged by a defendant, the CPS will decide whether or not to oppose the appeal after considering the grounds of appeal. If it decides to oppose, it will present relevant evidence and material to assist the appellate court. Exceptionally,
504-574: A greater or lesser degree (for instance Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster or Lord Privy Seal ). The government is sometimes referred to by the metonym " Westminster " or " Whitehall ", as many of its offices are situated there. These metonyms are used especially by members of the Scottish Government , Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to differentiate their government from His Majesty's Government. The United Kingdom
588-578: A low value) but cannot charge suspects with indictable offences without authorisation from a crown prosecutor (except in certain emergency situations). The Code for Crown Prosecutors requires prosecutors to answer two questions in the "Full Code Test": Is there sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction? (in other words, is there sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against each suspect on each charge). The code outlines this means that an objective, impartial and reasonable jury or bench of magistrates or judge hearing
672-482: A member of either House of Parliament. In practice, however, the convention is that ministers must be members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords to be accountable to Parliament. From time to time, prime ministers appoint non-parliamentarians as ministers. In recent years such ministers have been appointed to the House of Lords. The government is required by convention and for practical reasons to maintain
756-412: A new House of Commons, unless the prime minister advises the monarch to dissolve Parliament , in which case an election may be held sooner. After an election, the monarch selects as prime minister the leader of the party most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons, usually by possessing a majority of MPs. Under the uncodified British constitution , executive authority lies with
840-443: A review, these numbered 42 to mirror the police forces (save that CPS London dealt with both of London's territorial police forces). CPS Direct provides charging advice/authorisation by phone and electronically to police forces at all hours. Prosecutors assigned to CPS Direct are remote workers in order to provide support outside of normal business hours. Most charging decisions by the CPS are now made by CPS Direct, which then passes
924-678: A single unified team, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), be made responsible for all public prosecutions in England and Wales. A White paper was released in 1983, becoming the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 , which established the CPS under the direction of the Director of Public Prosecutions, consisting of a merger of his old department with the police prosecution departments. It started operating in 1986. In 1997,
SECTION 10
#17327731874681008-604: A substantial grant from the government, the Sovereign Support Grant , and Queen Elizabeth II's inheritance from her mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother , was exempt from inheritance tax . In addition to legislative powers, His Majesty's Government has substantial influence over local authorities and other bodies set up by it, through financial powers and grants. Many functions carried out by local authorities, such as paying out housing benefits and council tax benefits, are funded or substantially part-funded by
1092-551: A suspect should face criminal charges following an investigation, and to conduct prosecutions both in the magistrates' courts and the Crown Court . The Attorney General for England and Wales superintends the CPS's work and answers for it in Parliament , although the Attorney General has no influence over the conduct of prosecutions, except when national security is an issue or for a small number of offences that require
1176-497: A suspect. The seriousness or circumstances of the case must justify the making of an immediate charging decision, and there must be substantial grounds to object to bail. There must be a rigorous examination of the five conditions of the Threshold Test to ensure that it is only applied when necessary and that cases are not charged prematurely. All five conditions must be met before the Threshold Test can be applied. Where any of
1260-424: Is a constitutional monarchy in which the reigning monarch (that is, the king or queen who is the head of state at any given time) does not make any open political decisions. All political decisions are taken by the government and Parliament. This constitutional state of affairs is the result of a long history of constraining and reducing the political power of the monarch, beginning with Magna Carta in 1215. Since
1344-608: Is assisted by the CPS Chief Executive in running the organisation. Most of its casework is dealt with by the fourteen CPS Areas, which are responsible for conducting prosecutions in specific parts of England and Wales; each area is led by a Chief Crown Prosecutor. The areas are composed of police force areas , except in London where the Metropolitan Police are split across two areas. They are: Before
1428-603: Is not vital. A government is not required to resign even if it loses the confidence of the Lords and is defeated in key votes in that House. The House of Commons is thus the responsible house . The prime minister is held to account during Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) which provides an opportunity for MPs from all parties to question the PM on any subject. There are also departmental questions when ministers answer questions relating to their specific departmental brief. Unlike PMQs, both
1512-628: 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
1596-542: Is responsible for inspecting the work of the CPS. The current Chief Inspector of the CPS is Kevin McGinty. The CPS will often provide confidential advice to investigators on the viability of a prosecution in complex or unusual cases. This includes clarifying the intent needed to commit an offence or addressing shortcomings in the available evidence. Unlike in many other jurisdictions, the CPS has no power to order investigations or direct investigators to take action. Whether
1680-525: The Court of King's Bench at Westminster Hall . The second means of prosecution was by "appeal", which was when the prosecution was initiated not by presentment to a grand jury but by direct private prosecution of an interested party. An "appeal of murder" prosecuted by the widow of a murdered man was typical of this form of prosecution. Sir John Maule was appointed to be the first Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales in 1880, operating under
1764-650: 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 . The role of Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland has been held by
SECTION 20
#17327731874681848-628: 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
1932-483: The Greater London Authority disputed. Similarly, the monarch is immune from criminal prosecution and may only be sued with his permission (this is known as sovereign immunity ). The sovereign, by law, is not required to pay income tax, but Queen Elizabeth II voluntarily paid it from 1993 until the end of her reign in 2022, and also paid local rates voluntarily. However, the monarchy also received
2016-601: The Home Office ; his jurisdiction was only for decisions as to whether to prosecute in a very small number of difficult or important cases; once prosecution had been authorised, the matter was turned over to the Treasury Solicitor . Police forces continued to be responsible for the bulk of cases, sometimes referring difficult ones to the Director. In 1962 a Royal commission recommended that police forces set up independent prosecution teams so as to avoid having
2100-655: The Law Officers Act 1997 , the Solicitor General may do anything on behalf of, or in the place of, the Attorney General, and vice versa. Since the prorogation of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1972, the Attorney General for England and Wales was also Attorney General for Northern Ireland. The separate office of Attorney General for Northern Ireland was re-created alongside the new office of Advocate General for Northern Ireland upon
2184-672: The Lord Hermer since 5 July 2024. He 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
2268-589: The Northern Irish executive : the Attorney General for Northern Ireland . The two Attorneys General for the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall are non-political appointments. They are not typically being referred to when the term law officer is used, as this tends to be reserved for political appointees. The Attorney General for England and Wales , a member of the UK Government , is similarly
2352-592: 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. Paul Candler is HM Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory Government of
2436-458: The Attorney General has no role in the day-to-day running of the organisation or in deciding whether a suspect should be prosecuted. The CPS is an independent prosecuting authority and government ministers have no influence over its decision making. The only exceptions to this rule are when a case involves matters of national security or the Attorney General must personally consent to a prosecution (e.g. all Official Secrets Act prosecutions require
2520-538: The Attorney General is not personally involved with prosecutions, some prosecutions (e.g. rioting ) cannot be commenced without their consent, and they generally have the power to halt prosecutions. Criminal prosecutions are the responsibility of the Crown Prosecution Service , headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions . The Attorney General may appeal cases to the higher courts where, although
2604-595: The Attorney General's permission to proceed). Due to the Attorney General's limited role in the CPS's casework, the use of nolle prosequi (halting of proceedings on indictment; a prerogative of the Attorney General) is now rare. Questionable incidents, such as the dropping of the case against John Bodkin Adams for what was believed to be purely political reasons, have not been repeated in modern times. His Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI)
Law officers of the Crown - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-404: The Attorney General's permission to prosecute. Historically prosecutions were conducted through a patchwork of different systems. For serious crimes tried at the county level, justices of the peace or the sheriff would issue a presentment to a grand jury , who would either return a "true bill" resulting in an indictment, or not. If a true bill followed presentment, the individual would be tried by
2772-505: The CPS employs about 7,000 staff. They primarily prepare cases for internal and external advocates and liaise with police and third parties. Its approved external advocates number 2,900 solicitors and barristers , among which are specialists. Both sets of advocates include King's Counsel —concentrated externally. Headquartered in London and York, the senior management team sets policies and handles corporate matters such as finance and communications. The Director of Public Prosecutions
2856-420: The CPS has invited defendants to appeal when it has concluded that the safety of a conviction was questionable, for example in the case of undercover police officer Mark Kennedy . The Extradition Act 2003 tasks the CPS with representing foreign states in extradition proceedings, heard at Westminster Magistrates' Court . While it acts on the foreign prosecutor's instructions, the CPS retains discretion on how
2940-516: The CPS is asked for advice or a charging decision is entirely at the discretion of investigators (see History for background on this division of responsibilities in England & Wales). The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for charging suspects with indictable offences (e.g. murder , rape ) and all other criminal offences that lay beyond the prosecutorial authority of the police. Police forces can charge suspects with less serious summary offences (e.g. common assault , criminal damage with
3024-691: The Cabinet required legal advice. The Attorney General oversees the small Attorney General's Office and also has responsibility for the Government Legal Department , which is headed by the Treasury Solicitor . In practice, the Treasury Solicitor (who also has the title of Procurator General) normally provides the lawyers or briefs Treasury Counsel to appear in court, although the Attorney General may appear in person. The person appointed to this role provides legal advice to
3108-602: 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
3192-874: 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
3276-459: The Crown, who may use them without having to obtain the consent of Parliament. The prime minister also has weekly meetings with the monarch. What is said in these meetings is strictly private; however, they generally involve government and political matters which the monarch has a "right and a duty" to comment on. Such comments are non-binding however and the King must ultimately abide by decisions of
3360-669: The European Parliament are immune from prosecution in EU states under any circumstance. As a consequence, neither EU bodies nor diplomats have to pay taxes, since it would not be possible to prosecute them for tax evasion. When the UK was a member of the EU, this caused a dispute when the US ambassador to the UK claimed that London's congestion charge was a tax, and not a charge (despite the name), and therefore he did not have to pay it—a claim
3444-609: The Government Legal Department provides his back-up. When appearing in court in person he/she is addressed by the judge as "Mr. Attorney". The Attorney General also has supervisory powers over prosecutions, including those mounted by the Crown Prosecution Service , headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions ; the Serious Fraud Office ; and the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office . While
Law officers of the Crown - Misplaced Pages Continue
3528-487: The Government, acts as the representative of the public interest and resolves issues between government departments. The Government Legal Department provides advice to government departments, instructing independent counsel where necessary. The Attorney General is a barrister and can appear in court in person, though in practice he/she rarely does so, and then only in cases of outstanding national importance. In those cases
3612-590: The Home Office tasked Sir Iain Glidewell to inquire into performance of and make recommendations for the CPS. The Glidewell Report of June 1998 found that 12% of charges by police were discontinued by the CPS and that there were failures to communicate between the two. It recommended the CPS: Rebecca Lawrence , who was the chief executive of the CPS from 2019 to 2023, brought a claim against
3696-571: 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
3780-501: 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
3864-534: 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
3948-765: 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
4032-545: 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
4116-589: The United Kingdom King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The government of
4200-453: The United Kingdom , officially His Majesty's Government , abbreviated to HM Government , is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . The government is led by the prime minister (currently Keir Starmer since 5 July 2024) who selects all the other ministers . The country has had a Labour government since 2024. The prime minister Keir Starmer and his most senior ministers belong to
4284-440: The cabinet ministers for the department and junior ministers within the department may answer on behalf of the government, depending on the topic of the question. During debates on legislation proposed by the government, ministers—usually with departmental responsibility for the bill —will lead the debate for the government and respond to points made by MPs or Lords. Committees of both the House of Commons and House of Lords hold
SECTION 50
#17327731874684368-484: The case for court hearings, disclosing material to the defence and presenting the case in court. The CPS will be represented in court from the first hearing through to conviction/sentencing and in some cases appeal. All prosecutions must be kept under continuous review and stopped if the Full Code Test (see above) is no longer satisfied or was never satisfied (i.e. the decision to charge was wrong). Mishandling of
4452-602: The case should be prosecuted. The Extradition Unit at CPS Headquarters deals with all cases in which the extradition of a person within England and Wales is sought by another state and all cases in which the CPS is seeking the extradition of an individual outside the European Union. The CPS Areas prepare and manage their own extradition requests under the European Arrest Warrant framework. Treasury Counsel are specialist advocates who prosecute many of
4536-483: The central government. Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service ( CPS ) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales . It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions . The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal advice to the police and other investigative agencies during the course of criminal investigations, to decide whether
4620-468: The charge is still appropriate and that continued objection to bail is justified. The Full Code Test must be applied as soon as the anticipated further evidence or material is received and, in any event, in Crown Court cases, usually before the formal service of the prosecution case. Whether a decision to charge is taken by police or prosecutors, the CPS will conduct the case, which includes preparing
4704-411: The charity commissions) are legally more or less independent of the government, and government powers are legally limited to those retained by the Crown under common law or granted and limited by act of Parliament. Both substantive and procedural limitations are enforceable in the courts by judicial review . Nevertheless, magistrates and mayors can still be arrested and put on trial for corruption, and
4788-403: The chief law officer of the Crown in England and Wales and advises and represents the Crown and government departments in court. By convention, and unlike the papers of other ministers, this legal advice is available to subsequent governments. In the second half of the 20th century it became unusual for the Attorney General to be formally a member of the Cabinet. Rather he/she would attend only when
4872-538: The conditions are not met, there is no need to consider any of the other conditions, as the Threshold Test cannot be applied and the suspect cannot be charged. The five conditions that must be met before a Threshold Test can be applied are as follows: A decision to charge under the Threshold Test must be kept under review. The prosecutor should be proactive to secure from the police the identified outstanding evidence or other material in accordance with an agreed timetable. The evidence must be regularly assessed to ensure that
4956-436: The confidence of the House of Commons. It requires the support of the House of Commons for the maintenance of supply (by voting through the government's budgets) and to pass primary legislation . By convention, if a government loses the confidence of the House of Commons it must either resign or a general election is held. The support of the Lords, while useful to the government in getting its legislation passed without delay,
5040-573: The devolution of policing and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 12 April 2010. As a result, these functions were split between: 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
5124-486: 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
SECTION 60
#17327731874685208-409: The exchequer to be a member of the House of Lords was Lord Denman , who served for one month in 1834. The British monarch is the head of state and the sovereign , but not the head of government . The monarch takes little direct part in governing the country and remains neutral in political affairs. However, the authority of the state that is vested in the sovereign, known as the Crown , remains
5292-532: The government has powers to insert commissioners into a local authority to oversee its work, and to issue directives that must be obeyed by the local authority if the local authority is not abiding by its statutory obligations. By contrast, as in European Union (EU) member states, EU officials cannot be prosecuted for any actions carried out in pursuit of their official duties, and foreign country diplomats (though not their employees) and foreign members of
5376-651: The government on the statement. When the government instead chooses to make announcements first outside Parliament, it is often the subject of significant criticism from MPs and the speaker of the House of Commons . The prime minister is based at 10 Downing Street in Westminster , London. Cabinet meetings also take place here. Most government departments have their headquarters nearby in Whitehall . The government's powers include general executive and statutory powers , delegated legislation , and numerous powers of appointment and patronage. However, some powerful officials and bodies, (e.g. HM judges, local authorities , and
5460-419: The government to account, scrutinise its work and examine in detail proposals for legislation. Ministers appear before committees to give evidence and answer questions. Government ministers are also required by convention and the Ministerial Code , when Parliament is sitting, to make major statements regarding government policy or issues of national importance to Parliament. This allows MPs or Lords to question
5544-464: The government. Royal prerogative powers include, but are not limited to, the following: While no formal documents set out the prerogatives, the government published the above list in October 2003 to increase transparency, as some of the powers exercised in the name of the monarch are part of the royal prerogative . However, the complete extent of the royal prerogative powers has never been fully set out, as many of them originated in ancient custom and
5628-453: The independent Crown Prosecution Service. The CPS faced embarrassment after it destroyed key emails relating to Julian Assange . Email exchanges between the CPS and the Swedish Prosecution Authority were deleted after CPS lawyer Paul Close retired from the CPS in 2014. According to The Guardian , the CPS "unaccountably advised the Swedes in 2010 or 2011 not to visit London to interview Assange. An interview at that time could have prevented
5712-423: 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
5796-440: The long-running embassy standoff." The 2011 email advised the Swedes to interview Assange "only on his surrender to Sweden and in accordance with Swedish law". On 30 October 2020, the Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan , a member of the UAE royal family, who was accused by the curator of the inaugural Hay festival in Abu Dhabi , Caitlin McNamara, of sexually assaulting her during
5880-406: The most serious and complex cases in the country; they are led by a "First Senior Treasury Counsel (Criminal)" and is composed of ten senior and seven junior Treasury Counsel. Treasury Counsel (Criminal) are so-named because historically they were also instructed by the Treasury Solicitor (who in earlier times was also Director of Public Prosecutions ), although criminal prosecution is now overseen by
5964-416: 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
6048-476: The organisation for age and sex discrimination. This was settled after the first day of the tribunal in November 2023. Lawrence then announced that she was leaving the organisation, saying this was a "natural transition point for the CPS". The CPS undertook more than 800,000 prosecutions in 2012–13, approximately 700,000 of which were in the magistrates' courts and 100,000 in the Crown Court. The conviction rate
6132-522: The particular case is settled, there may be a point of law of public importance at issue. The Attorney General has public interest functions, being, for example, the trustee of default where a sole trustee has died, and can also take cases to the Supreme Court where points of general legal importance need to be settled. The Attorney General's deputy is the Solicitor General for England and Wales , held by Sarah Sackman , since 9 July 2024. Under
6216-433: The period of absolute monarchy , or were modified by later constitutional practice. As of 2019, there are around 120 government ministers supported by 560,000 civil servants and other staff working in the 24 ministerial departments and their executive agencies . There are also an additional 20 non-ministerial departments with a range of further responsibilities. In theory, a government minister does not have to be
6300-589: 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
6384-542: The prosecution to the appropriate CPS Area. The Casework Divisions deal with prosecutions requiring specialist knowledge and experience: The Attorney General oversees the work of the CPS, meeting regularly with the DPP and requesting briefings on matters of public or Parliamentary concern. The Attorney General (or their deputy, the Solicitor General ) answer for the CPS's performance and conduct in Parliament. However,
6468-429: The same officers investigate and prosecute a case. Technical barriers were already in place that those prosecuting did so as private citizens, rendering them open to the range of evidential offences imposable by the court. This Royal Commission's recommendation was not implemented by all police forces, however, and so in 1977, another was set up, this time headed by Sir Cyril Philips . It reported in 1981, recommending that
6552-433: The source of executive power exercised by the government. In addition to explicit statutory authority , the Crown also possesses a body of powers in certain matters collectively known as the royal prerogative . These powers range from the authority to issue or withdraw passports to declarations of war. By long-standing convention, most of these powers are delegated from the sovereign to various ministers or other officers of
6636-666: The sovereign, although this authority is exercised only after receiving the advice of the Privy Council . The prime minister, the House of Lords, the Leader of the Opposition, and the police and military high command serve as members and advisers of the monarch on the Privy Council. In most cases the cabinet exercise power directly as leaders of the government departments , though some Cabinet positions are sinecures to
6720-400: The start of Edward VII 's reign in 1901, by convention, the prime minister has been an elected member of Parliament (MP) and thus answerable to the House of Commons, although there were two weeks in 1963 when Alec Douglas-Home was first a member of the House of Lords and then of neither house. A similar convention applies to the position of chancellor of the exchequer . The last chancellor of
6804-581: The supreme decision-making committee, known as the Cabinet . Ministers of the Crown are responsible to the House in which they sit; they make statements in that House and take questions from members of that House. For most senior ministers this is usually the elected House of Commons rather than the House of Lords . The government is dependent on Parliament to make primary legislation , and general elections are held every five years (at most) to elect
6888-441: The suspect or the prosecutor will ask the police to carry out further inquiries to gather more evidence. When there is sufficient evidence but a prosecution is not required in the public interest, prosecutors can decide that no further action should be taken or that a caution or reprimand is a suitable alternative to prosecution. In limited circumstances, where the Full Code Test is not met, the Threshold Test may be applied to charge
6972-518: Was 86% in the magistrates' courts and 80% in the Crown Court. The Spending Review undertaken by HM Treasury in 2010 (and revised in 2013) has led to a budget decrease of almost 30% between 2010 and 2014, resulting in a restructure of the organisation and a large number of voluntary redundancies. The CPS has implemented measures such as the Core Quality Standards with the intention of maintaining and raising standards. As of 2023,
7056-524: Was created to advise the UK Government on matters of Scots law . The office of the Advocate General for Scotland should not be confused with that of "His Majesty's Advocate", which is the term used for the Lord Advocate in Scottish criminal proceedings as the head of the systems of prosecution in Scotland. The Welsh Government has its own law officer: the Counsel General for Wales ; as does
#467532