The Shawcross principle is an idea in the United Kingdom's Westminster system of government, whereby the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

is to be left to his or her own devices and judgments regarding whether or not to establish

criminal proceedings Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or i ...

. It relates to political pressure and

cabinet government A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

History

What we know as the Shawcross principle was the subject of debate in the UK Parliament on 29 January 1951. In a lengthy defence of his conduct regarding an illegal strike, Attorney-General Shawcross cited hundreds of years of

precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...

as to the firm foundation of his actions. The principle (or doctrine) states that the Attorney General: * must take into account matters of public interest, * that assistance from cabinet colleagues must be limited to advice, * that responsibility for the decision is that of the Attorney General alone, and * that the government is not to put pressure on him or her. The 1964 Rivard affair in Canada caused the sitting Attorney-General, Guy Favreau, to resign because of his non-prosecution of senior officials in the Pearson government over their attempted bribery of American officials in Rivard's case. The Shawcross principle was cited by Australian Attorney-General

Bob Ellicott Robert James Ellicott, (15 April 1927 – 31 October 2022) was an Australian barrister, politician and judge. He served as Solicitor-General of Australia (1969–1973) before entering the House of Representatives at the 1974 federal election ...

who cited attempts by his boss,

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

, to control his discretion. In 2004 in the context of the

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, a

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

by the name of

Katharine Gun Katharine Teresa Gun (''née'' Harwood) (born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). In 2003, she leaked top-secret information to ''The Observer'', concerning a request by ...

risked prosecution under the Official Secrets Act. Lawyers for Gun, who was formerly a

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Uni ...

translator, asked for disclosure of advice on the legality of the Iraq war given by Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith in his role as the government's legal adviser. Goldsmith said that he had conducted what is known as a "Shawcross exercise". Goldsmith sent a "Shawcross letter" to the foreign secretary,

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...

, who was responsible for GCHQ, advising him that HMG should decline to pursue Gun. The Shawcross Principle was the judicial doctrine that the ethics commissioner Mario Dion said Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

breached in the Jody Wilson-Raybould - SNC Lavalin bribery and fraud prosecution case.

Commentary

* * * * * * * *

Wong Yan Lung Wong Yan-lung, GBM, SC (; born 1963) is a barrister in Hong Kong who served as the second Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong between 20 October 2005 and 30 June 2012. Early years Wong grew up in a small flat in Tai Wong Street East ( 大王 ...

, ''The Secretary for Justice as the Protector of the Public Interest – Continuity and Development'' (2007) 37 HKLJ 319

References

{{reflist Parliamentary procedure Constitution of the United Kingdom Political systems Common law