Overview

This book provides a detailed account of each law officer’s functions and draws on that account as the basis for a conceptual analysis of their constitutional legitimacy. In recent years, the constitutional legitimacy of law officers has been questioned repeatedly because of recurring controversies surrounding the discharge of their varied functions. Indeed, it has become increasingly clear that those functions enable law officers to play a highly influential part in the regulation and exercise of public power throughout the United Kingdom. McCormick argues that the most persuasive framework for analysing the offices which make up this diverse regime involves concentrating on the constitutional values of independence, accountability and trust which underpin it. Both aspects of the book – namely the explanation of individual functions and the conceptual analysis of collective legitimacy – are written in a holistic way which encompasses critical analyses about the Attorney General and Solicitor General for England and Wales; the Counsel General for Wales; the Lord Advocate, Solicitor General and Advocate General for Scotland, as well as the Attorney General and Advocate General for Northern Ireland.

Full Product Details

Author:   Conor McCormick (Queen’s University, Belfast, UK)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Hart Publishing
ISBN:  

9781509944118

ISBN 10:   1509944117
Pages:   272
Publication Date:   14 July 2022
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

1. Introduction Labelling the Law Officers Leading Critiques of the Law Officers Presenting a Fresh Perspective on the Law Officers Conclusions 2. Conceptualising Law Officers in the UK Constitution Introduction The Concept of Constitutional Legitimacy The Concept of Independence The Concept of Accountability The Concept of Trust Conclusions 3. The Attorney General and Solicitor General for England and Wales Introduction Executive Functions Advisory and Advocacy Functions Public Interest Functions Conclusions 4. The Counsel General for Wales Introduction Constituting the Counsel General The Familiar Functions of the Counsel General Unique and Recently Created Functions of the Counsel General Conclusions 5. The Lord Advocate, Solicitor General and Advocate General for Scotland Introduction The Monarchical Phase The ‘Predominantly Political’ Phase The ‘Predominantly Legal’ Phase The Post-Devolution, Modern-Day Phase Conclusions 6. The Attorney General and Advocate General for Northern Ireland Introduction The Original Office The Cognate Office The Current Offices Conclusions 7. Constitutional Controversy and Law Officer Legitimacy Introduction Constitutional Controversy and the Value of Independence Constitutional Controversy and the Value of Accountability Constitutional Controversy and the Value of Trust Conclusions 8 Conclusions Introduction A Trifocal and Relativistic Model of Legitimising Values Conclusions

Reviews

McCormick promises, and delivers, an original evaluative approach, which assesses the legitimacy of the law officers’ positions and their performance of the tasks entrusted to them by reference to a trio of constitutional values: independence, accountability and trust. -- Terence Daintith * Public Law *

Author Information

Conor McCormick is Lecturer in Law at Queen’s University Belfast, UK.

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