The Law Officers Act 1997 is an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

which allowed 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 ...

and for Northern Ireland to delegate powers to the

Solicitor General for England and Wales His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General for England and Wales ...

. Previously, the Solicitor General was separately and explicitly granted some of the same powers of the Attorney General. This Act effectively made the Solicitor General an

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

of the Attorney General.

Overview

Section 1

This section allows the Solicitor General to do things in the name of the Attorney General, effectively allowing them to delegate powers to the Solicitor General.

Section 2

This section effectively extends Section 1's provisions to Northern Ireland. Since 2010, the Attorney General for England and Wales is the

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 these provisions have been exercised by them.

Section 3

This section enacts certain repeals which explicitly granted the Solicitor General powers of the Attorney General, and sets a date for the Act to commence.''Law Officers Act'', s. 3
1997 c. 60.
Retrieved 26 June 2018.

References

External links