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Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002

Attorney General

Section 22: Attorney General

44.It is planned to commence the provisions in sections 22 to 28 and sections 41 to 43 on the devolution of justice functions to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Subsection (1) of section 22 will remove the linkage, established by section 10 of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, between the Attorney General for England and Wales and the Attorney General for Northern Ireland.

45.Subsection (2) of this section gives the First Minister and deputy First Minister the duty to appoint a person to be Attorney General for Northern Ireland, after consulting the Advocate General for Northern Ireland (see paragraph 13 of Schedule 7). Subsections (3) and (4) make it clear how the new, local Attorney General for Northern Ireland is to be funded and that he may appoint new staff. Subsection (5) requires the Attorney General to exercise his functions independently. Subsection (6) sets out the legal qualifications for the post. These are equivalent to those of a judge of the High Court in Northern Ireland (see section 18). Under subsection (7) the First Minister and deputy First Minister may make arrangements to fill the post of Attorney General temporarily during a vacancy. Before doing so they must consult the Advocate General for Northern Ireland (see paragraph 12 of Schedule 7).

Section 23: Terms of appointment of Attorney General

46.Subsection (2) of this section provides that the local Attorney General cannot be appointed for a period of longer than five years at a time. It would be possible for the First Minister and deputy First Minister to reappoint an individual to the post of Attorney General for Northern Ireland after such a period of five years has come to an end.

47.The effect of subsections (6) to (8) is to disqualify the holder of the post of Attorney General for Northern Ireland from being a member of the House of Commons, the Northern Ireland Assembly or a local authority in Northern Ireland.

48.Subsection (9) makes the local Attorney General subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This is equivalent to the position of the Attorney General in England and Wales.

Section 24: Removal of Attorney General

49.Subsection (1) provides that the First Minister and deputy First Minister can only remove or suspend the Attorney General for Northern Ireland from office on the recommendation of a tribunal. The members of the tribunal will be judges in England, Wales or Scotland (subsection (4)). The tribunal will be convened by the First Minister and deputy First Minister and its members will be appointed by the Lord Chancellor.

Section 25: Participation by Attorney General in Assembly proceedings

50.The effect of this section is to make the Attorney General accountable before the Northern Ireland Assembly for the operation of the Prosecution Service. He will be allowed to answer questions and make statements pursuant to standing orders, but without the right to vote. Subsection (3) will give him the right to refuse to answer questions or produce documents on public interest grounds or where that might prejudice criminal proceedings. Subsection (4) makes the Attorney subject to the provisions of section 43 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (members’ interests), under which he will be required to declare any interests in the register maintained by the Assembly before taking part in any relevant proceedings of the Assembly.

Section 26: Annual report by Attorney General

51.This section sets out arrangements whereby the Attorney General for Northern Ireland is required to write an annual report for each financial year on how he has exercised his functions. This report will be laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly by the First Minister and deputy First Minister, who will also arrange for it to be published.

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