The Attorney General for Northern Ireland is the chief legal adviser to the

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ter ...

for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral , hou ...

. The Attorney General for Northern Ireland is also responsible for appointing the director and deputy director of the

Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPSNI) is the department of the Northern Ireland Executive responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in Northern Ireland. It is headed by the Director of ...

History

The original post was formed in 1921 with the establishment of the

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 because of its inability to restore ord ...

and was always held by an

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...

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 His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney ...

performed the role of Attorney General for Northern Ireland after the prorogation of the

in 1972. These office-holders were always

United Kingdom Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

Ministers. Justice powers were again devolved to the

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 The advocate general for Northern Ireland is the chief legal adviser to the Government of the United Kingdom on Northern Ireland law and the post is held by the attorney general for England and Wales by virtue of that office. The advocate general ...

and a vacancy occurred. John Larkin QC became the first politically independent office-holder, taking office on 24 May 2010,OFMDFM: Appointment of Attorney General announced, 24 May 2010
when he was appointed by

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister

Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness ( ga, Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman from Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during ...

. The role and powers of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland are provided in the

Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

. The Attorney General 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.

Office-holders

Devolved government 1921–1972

Colour key (for political parties):

Direct rule 1972–2010

Colour key (for political parties):

Devolved government 2010–present

Colour key (for political parties):

References

{{reflist

External links

Office of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland
Law of Northern Ireland Region-specific legal occupations Political office-holders in Northern Ireland Legal ethics Law Officers of the Crown in the United Kingdom

History

Office-holders

Devolved government 1921–1972

Direct rule 1972–2010

Devolved government 2010–present

See also

References

External links