Advocate general

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Advocate General
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An advocate general of a state is a senior officer of the law. In some common law and hybrid jurisdictions the officer performs the function of a legal advisor to the government, analogous to

attorneys general in other common law and hybrid jurisdictions. By contrast, in the European Union
and some continental European jurisdictions, the officer is a neutral legal advisor to the courts.

India

In

high court
. There is no fixed term of office and no upper-age-limit mentioned for the Advocate general.

Pakistan

In Pakistan an advocate general of the Province of the Punjab is a constitutional post and is an authority duly appointed under Article 140 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. A person who is qualified to be appointed a Judge of the High Court is appointed the Advocate General for the province. He is the principal law officer of the Province.

Galaxy of Lawyers in Lahore High Court, Lahore.

The Advocate General and his office defends and protects the interest of the Provincial government and gives invaluable legal guidance to the provincial government in formulation of its policy and execution of its decision. Advocate-General of the Punjab is also ex officio chairman of the Punjab Bar Council.

The office of the Advocate General is directly connected with the High Court of the province. Pre-independence (1947) the High Court of judicature for the premises of Punjab and Delhi was established at Lahore and was called the High Court of Judicature at Lahore. After independence of Pakistan, the High Court at Lahore ceased to have jurisdiction over Delhi and the then East Punjab. On 14 August 1947 the High Court (Lahore) Order, 1947, preserved the continuance of the High Court at Lahore with all rights, powers and privileges as hitherto enjoyed and possessed by it before the appointed day. The Governor-General of the Dominion of Pakistan became the substitute of the Crown in matters of appointment etc. of Judges of the Lahore High Court.[citation needed]

UK

England and Wales

The concept of "advocate general" fits less comfortably into a common law system than a civil law system; and England, the archetypal common law jurisdiction, has no such officer, nor is there any equivalent person to address and advise any court.

However,

Law Officers of the Crown and whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law. His deputy is the Solicitor General
, who serves the same function.

Scotland

Historically, the

Scots Law by the Lord Advocate but following the Scotland Act 1998 and the establishment of the Scottish Parliament the Lord Advocate became an adviser to, and a part of, the Scottish Government
.

It was necessary to create a post to advise the

on his transfer to the Scottish Government.

Northern Ireland

The position of

Other European jurisdictions

The position of advocate general is well established in the

legal systems, where higher courts are assisted by these legal officers. They are not advocates representing clients in courts. They are not judges either, although they are full members of the courts. They mainly offer legal advice to judges on the cases being tried. They may also have a prosecution
role, depending on countries and on the nature of cases (criminal or civil).

The position of advocate general (avocat général) already existed in the French legal system before the

felonies
are tried.

European Union

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) consists of one judge from each member state, assisted by eleven advocates general whose role is to consider the written and oral submissions to the court in every case that raises a new point of law, and deliver an impartial opinion to the court on the legal solution.[2] Although the Advocates General are full members of the court, they do not take part in the court's deliberations, and the Advocate General's opinion is not binding on the court. Although the court reaches the same solution as the Advocate General more often than not, it cannot usually be stated that the Advocate General's opinion has been 'followed' in any given case, because the court may have reached the same conclusion via different legal reasoning. The role of Advocate General is created by Article 19(2) of the Treaty on European Union and Articles 253 and 254 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Benelux Court of Justice

When the Benelux Court of Justice answers requests for a preliminary ruling, it also first considers the advice of an advocate general. The court has three, one from each participating country (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg), taken from the procureurs-general of each country.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Attorney General's Office: Statement on Northern Ireland devolution, 12 April 2010". Archived from the original on July 5, 2011.
  2. ^ "Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)". European Union. June 16, 2016.

Further reading