Attorney General for Northern Ireland
Encyclopedia
The Attorney General for Northern Ireland is the chief legal adviser to the Northern Ireland Executive
for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Northern Ireland Assembly
.
The original post was formed in 1921 with the establishment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland
and was always held by an Ulster Unionist Party
MP. A Deputy Attorney General briefly held office in 1946, when the post was held by Edmond Warnock MP
(21 June - 11 September).
The Attorney General for England and Wales
performed the role of Attorney General for Northern Ireland after the prorogation of the Parliament of Northern Ireland
in 1972. These office-holders were always United Kingdom Government Ministers.
Justice powers were again devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly
on 12 April 2010, at which point the Attorney General for England and Wales ceased to hold office as Attorney General of Northern Ireland. She instead became Advocate General for Northern Ireland
and a vacancy occurred. The current office-holder, John Larkin
QC, is politically independent and took office on 24 May 2010 , when he was appointed by First Minister Peter Robinson
and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness
.
The role and powers of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland are provided in the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002. He or she is appointed for a term of not more than five years jointly by the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. The Attorney General is permitted to participate in the proceedings of the Assembly, but not to vote.
The Attorney General for Northern Ireland is also the chief public prosecutor for Northern Ireland and is responsible for the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland
.
position vacant (1-11 March 1968)
Direct rule
See also: List of Attorneys General for England and Wales
position vacant (4-7 March 1974)
position vacant (4-6 May 1979)
position vacant (2-6 May 1997)
Devolved
position vacant (12 April 2010 - 24 May 2010)
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
.
The original post was formed in 1921 with the establishment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
and was always held by an Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
MP. A Deputy Attorney General briefly held office in 1946, when the post was held by Edmond Warnock MP
Edmond Warnock
John Edmond Warnock PC KC was an Irish barrister and politician.Born in Belfast, he was educated at Methodist College Belfast and Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the English Bar in 1911, to the Northern Ireland Bar in 1921 and was appointed as King's Counsel in 1933...
(21 June - 11 September).
The Attorney General for England and Wales
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
performed the role of Attorney General for Northern Ireland after the prorogation of the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
in 1972. These office-holders were always United Kingdom Government Ministers.
Justice powers were again devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
on 12 April 2010, at which point the Attorney General for England and Wales ceased to hold office as Attorney General of Northern Ireland. She instead became Advocate General for Northern Ireland
Advocate General for Northern Ireland
The Advocate General for Northern Ireland is the chief legal adviser to the UK Government on Northern Ireland law and the post is held by the Attorney General for England and Wales by virtue of that office...
and a vacancy occurred. The current office-holder, John Larkin
John Larkin (Northern Ireland)
John Larkin, QC is the Attorney General for Northern Ireland. He is the first person to hold the office separately since its functions were assumed by the Attorney General for England and Wales in 1972...
QC, is politically independent and took office on 24 May 2010 , when he was appointed by First Minister Peter Robinson
Peter Robinson (politician)
Peter David Robinson is the current First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party...
and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland....
.
The role and powers of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland are provided in the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002. He or she is appointed for a term of not more than five years jointly by the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. The Attorney General is permitted to participate in the proceedings of the Assembly, but not to vote.
The Attorney General for Northern Ireland is also the chief public prosecutor for Northern Ireland and is responsible for the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland
Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland
The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland is the department of the Northern Ireland Office responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in Northern Ireland. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland...
.
Office-holders
Devolved- Richard Best MPRichard Best (judge)Richard Best PC KC was an Irish barrister, politician and Lord Justice of Appeal.Best was born in Richhill, County Armagh. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and was called to the bar by the King's Inns, Dublin in 1895. He took silk in 1912 and was elected a bencher in 1918...
(7 June 1921 - 5 November 1925) - Anthony Babington MPAnthony Babington (politician)Sir Anthony Brutus Babington PC KC was an Irish barrister, judge and politician.He was educated at Glenalmond School, Perthshire and Trinity College, Dublin...
(5 November 1925 - 3 December 1937) - Edward Sullivan Murphy MPEdward Sullivan MurphyEdward Sullivan Murphy PC KC was an Irish barrister, judge and politician. He was brother-in-law to Northern Ireland's first Lord Chief Justice, Sir Denis Henry, Bt. .He was educated at Charterhouse School, Surrey, and Trinity College, Dublin...
(3 December 1937 - 14 April 1939) - Arthur Black MP (14 April 1939 - 10 November 1941)
- John MacDermott MPJohn MacDermott, Baron MacDermottJohn Clarke MacDermott, Baron MacDermott, MC PC was a Northern Irish politician and lawyer who was Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland from 1951 to 1971....
(10 November 1941 - 3 November 1944) - William Lowry MPWilliam LowryWilliam Lowry PC KC was an Irish barrister, judge, Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament and Attorney General for Northern Ireland-Career:...
(3 November 1944 - 6 June 1947) - Lancelot Curran MPLancelot CurranMajor Sir Lancelot Ernest Curran was a Northern Ireland High Court judge and parliamentarian.He was elected as Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for Carrick in the Stormont Parliament serving from 1945 till 1949, and was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance...
(6 June 1947 - 4 November 1949) - Edmond Warnock MPEdmond WarnockJohn Edmond Warnock PC KC was an Irish barrister and politician.Born in Belfast, he was educated at Methodist College Belfast and Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the English Bar in 1911, to the Northern Ireland Bar in 1921 and was appointed as King's Counsel in 1933...
(4 November 1949 - 14 April 1956) - Brian Maginess MPBrian MaginessWilliam Brian Maginess, QC was a member of the Government of Northern Ireland, who was widely seen as a possible successor to Lord Brookeborough as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland....
(14 April 1956 - 20 March 1964) - Edward Warburton Jones MPEdward Warburton JonesSir Edward Warburton Jones PC PC QC was a Northern Irish barrister, judge and politician.Teddy Jones was educated at Portora Royal School and Trinity College, Dublin...
(20 March 1964 - 1 March 1968)
position vacant (1-11 March 1968)
- Basil Kelly MPBasil KellySir John William Basil Kelly, QC, PC, PC was a Northern Irish barrister, judge and politician.He was born in Belfast and was educated at Methodist College Belfast and Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the Northern Irish Bar in 1944 and took silk in 1958. He served as senior Crown Counsel...
(11 March 1968 - 30 March 1972)
Direct rule
See also: List of Attorneys General for England and Wales
- Sir Peter Rawlinson MPPeter Rawlinson, Baron Rawlinson of EwellPeter Anthony Grayson Rawlinson, Baron Rawlinson of Ewell, PC, QC was an English barrister, politician and author. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for Epsom for 23 years, from 1955 to 1978, and held the offices of Solicitor General and Attorney General for England and Wales and for...
(30 March 1972 – 4 March 1974)
position vacant (4-7 March 1974)
- Samuel Silkin MPSamuel Silkin, Baron Silkin of DulwichSamuel Charles Silkin, Baron Silkin of Dulwich, PC, QC was a British Labour Party politician and cricketer....
(7 March 1974 – 4 May 1979)
position vacant (4-6 May 1979)
- Sir Michael Havers MPMichael Havers, Baron HaversRobert Michael Oldfield Havers, Baron Havers PC, QC was a British barrister and Conservative politician. From his knighthood in 1972 until becoming a peer in 1987 he was known as Sir Michael Havers.- Early life :...
(6 May 1979 – 13 June 1987) - Sir Patrick Mayhew MPPatrick MayhewPatrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden, PC is a British barrister, and Conservative Party politician.He was educated at Tonbridge School and Balliol College, Oxford...
(13 June 1987 – 10 April 1992) - Sir Nicholas Lyell MP (10 April 1992 – 2 May 1997)
position vacant (2-6 May 1997)
- Sir John Morris MPJohn Morris, Baron Morris of AberavonJohn Morris, Baron Morris of Aberavon, KG, PC, QC is a retired British politician. He was a Labour Member of Parliament from 1959 to 2001 and Secretary of State for Wales from 1974 to 1979.-Background and education:...
(6 May 1997 – 29 July 1999) - The Lord Williams of MostynGareth Williams, Baron Williams of MostynGareth Wyn Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn, PC, QC, was a Welsh barrister and Labour politician who was Leader of the House of Lords, Lord President of the Council and a member of the Cabinet at the time of his sudden death in 2003.Williams was born near Prestatyn, in North Wales, a son of...
(29 July 1999 – 11 June 2001) - The Lord GoldsmithPeter Goldsmith, Baron GoldsmithPeter Henry Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith, PC, QC , is a former Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland. On 22 June 2007, Goldsmith announced his resignation which took effect on 27 June 2007, the same day that prime minister, Tony Blair, stepped down. Goldsmith was the longest...
(11 June 2001 – 27 June 2007) - The Baroness Scotland of AsthalPatricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of AsthalPatricia Janet, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, PC, QC is a British barrister, and served in many ministerial positions within the UK Government, most notably as the Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland.-Early life and career:Baroness Scotland was born in...
(27 June 2007 – 12 April 2010)
Devolved
position vacant (12 April 2010 - 24 May 2010)
- John LarkinJohn Larkin (Northern Ireland)John Larkin, QC is the Attorney General for Northern Ireland. He is the first person to hold the office separately since its functions were assumed by the Attorney General for England and Wales in 1972...
QC (24 May 2010 - present)
See also
- Law Officers of the CrownLaw Officers of the CrownThe Law Officers of the Crown are the chief legal advisers to the Crown, and advise and represent the various governments in the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth Realms. In England and Wales, Northern Ireland and most Commonwealth and colonial governments, the chief law officer of the...
- Advocate General for Northern IrelandAdvocate General for Northern IrelandThe Advocate General for Northern Ireland is the chief legal adviser to the UK Government on Northern Ireland law and the post is held by the Attorney General for England and Wales by virtue of that office...
- Attorney General for England and WalesAttorney General for England and WalesHer Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
- Department of Justice (Northern Ireland)Department of Justice (Northern Ireland)The Department of Justice is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The current Minister of Justice is David Ford, who is a member of the Northern Ireland Executive...
- Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (Northern Ireland)