Functions of The Office of Counsel General
The Counsel General is the senior and authoritative legal adviser to Welsh Government.
The Counsel General’s statutory responsibilities are set out in the Government of Wales Act 2006. Principally they are:
- Like the Welsh Ministers and the First Minister, the Counsel General may make appropriate representations about any matter affecting Wales, which will therefore extend to both “devolved” and “non devolved” matters (section 62 GOWA 2006);
- If the Counsel General considers it appropriate to promote or protect the public interest, he may bring, defend or appear in legal proceedings, in the name of the Counsel General. However, the proceedings must relate to matters in respect of which Welsh Ministers or the Counsel General have functions (section 67 GOWA 2006);
- The Counsel General may refer to the Supreme Court a question of whether a provision of a Bill passed by the Assembly (and before Royal Assent) is within the Assembly’s legislative competence (section 112 GOWA 2006);
- The Counsel General may bring legal proceedings to have a “devolution issue” decided, or defend any such proceedings brought by other Law Officers in the UK. “Devolution issue” is defined in paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 9 to GOWA 2006. It includes (among other things) questions of whether an Assembly Act is within competence or whether the Welsh Ministers have particular functions. The Counsel General can also require devolution issues to be referred to the Supreme Court for a decision.
Generally the Counsel General's rôle includes the following:
- Providing legal advice to, representing and overseeing the representation of the Welsh Government in legal proceedings;
- Holding meetings and discussions with other UK Law Officers, the judiciary, members of the legal profession and others involved in the administration of justice;
- Improving the accessibility of devolved legislation in Wales for the legal profession and other members of the public, including overseeing the future consolidation of existing legislation;
- Responding to Law Commission and other (for example, UK Government) proposals or consultations where appropriate.
Read more about this topic: Counsel General For Wales
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