The Attorney General (Irish: An Ard-Aighne) is the official adviser to the Irish Government in matters of law. He is in effect the chief law officer in the Republic of Ireland. The Attorney-General is not a member of the Government but does participate in cabinet meetings.
As the Attorney General advises the Government on the constitutionality of bills and treaties, he also presents the Government's case if the President refers any bill to the Supreme Court under Article 26 of the Constitution, before signing it.
The Attorney General has few prosecution duties; these are limited to functions under the various Fisheries Acts and Extradition Acts.
The Office of the Attorney-General consists of a number of different offices:
- The Advisory Counsel to the Attorney-General (providing legal advice);
- The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (drafting legislation);
- The Chief State Solicitor's Office (providing litigation, conveyancing and other transactional services);
- The Statute Law Revision Unit (simplifying and improving the body of statute law).
Part of the Attorney General's function has been to identify and prepare the repeal of all legislation passed before independence. This includes laws of the United Kingdom, the Great Britain, of England and of the Irish Parliament. For example the killing of cattle in Dublin is still regulated, in part by an Irish act of 1743, whilst the "Treatment of Foreign Merchants" is governed by 25 Edw. 1 Magna Carta c. 30, an act of the English Parliament dated 1297.
The AttorneyGeneral (Irish: An Ard-Aighne) is a constitutional officer who is the official adviser to the Irish Government in matters of law.
As the AttorneyGeneral advises the Government on the constitutionality of bills and treaties, he also presents the Government's case if the President refers any bill to the Supreme Court under Article 26 of the Constitution, before signing it.
The office, which was created in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, is a lineal successor of the offices of Attorney-General for Ireland, Attorney-General for Southern Ireland and the Attorney-General of the Irish Free State.
The AttorneyGeneral for England and Wales is similarly the chief law officer of the Crown in England and Wales, and advises and represents the Crown and government departments in court.
The AttorneyGeneral of the Duchy of Cornwall is the chief legal adviser to the Prince of Wales, and there is a separate AttorneyGeneral for the Duchy of Lancaster, which is owned by the Crown.
The attorneygeneral may need to be distinguished from the Solicitor General, a high Justice Department official with the responsibility of representing the government in the Supreme Court.
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