Advocate General - Other European Jurisdictions

Other European Jurisdictions

The position of Advocate General is well established in the French, Dutch, and some other continental European 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 French Revolution, when they were found in the then higher courts (parlements, cours des aides, etc.) and proposed legal solutions to the judges in cases involving the State, the Church, the general public, communities, or minors. Since the French Revolution, they are found in the Supreme Court, the Court of Audit, the Courts of Appeal, and the Assize Courts. They have more of a prosecution role than before the French Revolution, especially in the Assize Courts, in which people accused of felonies are tried.

Advocates General are also part of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), where there are eight of them. The post is created by Article 252 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. They are full members of the court but they are not judges. They are not prosecutors either, unlike in the modern French legal system. They do not take part in the court's deliberations, yet they assist with each case and deliver their opinions on questions. It is the role of the Advocates General to propose to the Court, in complete independence, a legal solution to the cases for which they are responsible. The Advocate General’s opinion, although often in fact followed, is not binding on the Court.