Official Solicitor

Official Solicitor

The Office of the Official Solicitor is a part of the Ministry of Justice of the Government of the United Kingdom. The Official Solicitor acts for people who, because they lack mental capacity and cannot properly manage their own affairs, are unable to represent themselves and no other suitable person or agency is able or willing to act. The Official Solicitor acts for England & Wales only, as Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate legal systems and judiciaries.

Historically, states have recognised the need for representation of an incapacitated person when a benevolent relative or friend cannot be found to act on his behalf, this is the function of the Office of the Official Solicitor. The Official Solicitor becomes formally involved when appointed by the Court, and he can act as his own solicitor, or instruct a private firm of solicitors to represent him. The Official Solicitor has two main functions. Firstly, in England and Wales, his main function is to represent minors who are incapable of representing themselves in the High Court and in the Court of Protection. He also acts as last resort personal representative for the estate of a deceased person, or trustee of a trust. Secondly, in the area of international child protection obligations to which the UK government is a signatory, the Official Solicitor deals with cases brought under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction through the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU). In this capacity it deals with international child abduction and contact issues and handles maintenance enforcement in cases where one parent lives outside the UK through the Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Unit (REMO).