Acts and Regulations

A-16.5 - An Act Respecting the Office of the Attorney General

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Repealed on 1 September 2011
CHAPTER A-16.5
An Act Respecting the
Office of the Attorney General
Assented to April 30, 2008
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:
Repealed: R.S.N.B. 2011, Schedule A
Definitions
1The following definitions apply in this Act.
“Attorney General” means the person who holds the office of the Attorney General of New Brunswick by virtue of his or her appointment to that office under the Executive Council Act.(procureur général)
“government department” means a department over which a member of the Executive Council presides.(ministère)
Functions of Attorney General
2The Attorney General
(a) is the law officer of the Executive Council;
(b) shall see that the administration of public affairs is in accordance with the law;
(c) shall perform the duties and have the powers that at common law belong to the Attorney General, so far as those duties and powers are applicable to New Brunswick, and shall perform the duties and have the powers that, until the Constitution Act, 1867, came into effect, belonged to the Office of the Attorney General in the province of New Brunswick and which are, under the provisions of that Act, within the scope of the powers of the Legislature;
(d) shall carry out such duties and exercise such powers as are attendant to the prosecution of offences by and in proceedings under statutes and regulations in which offences are created;
(e) shall advise the government upon all matters of law connected with legislative enactments and upon all matters of law referred to him or her by the government;
(f) shall advise the heads of government departments upon all matters of law connected with such departments;
(g) shall conduct and regulate all litigation for and against the Crown;
(h) shall advise government upon all matters of a legislative nature and superintend and draft all government measures of a legislative nature;
(i) shall perform such other functions as are assigned to him or her by the Legislature or by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.
Law officers
3(1)Law officers who are employees of the Office of the Attorney General shall be appointed under the Civil Service Act.
3(2)The Attorney General may, of law officers who are employees of the Office of the Attorney General, appoint one or more such persons to be agents of the Attorney General to perform such duties and exercise such powers as law officers of the Crown as may be prescribed by the Attorney General.
3(3)The Attorney General may appoint a law officer from private practice as ad hoc counsel to serve as an agent of the Attorney General.
3(4)No person other than a person who is employed as a law officer of the office of the Attorney General or who has otherwise been appointed by the Attorney General as a law officer shall provide legal advice or legal services to the Executive Council, members of Executive Council or to government departments.
Independence of prosecutions
4(1)If the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General or other member of government gives instructions to the Director of Public Prosecutions, or to a person who acts in a similar position regardless of the title of the position, with respect to the approval or conduct of any prosecution or appeal, that direction
(a) shall be given in writing to the Director of Public Prosecutions or such other person, and
(b) may, in the discretion of the Director of Public Prosecutions or such other person, be published in The Royal Gazette.
4(2)The Director of Public Prosecutions, or a person who acts in a similar position regardless of the title of the position, shall not be removed from his or her position except by address to and approval of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick.
Repeal
5The Crown Prosecutors Act, chapter C-39 of the Revised Statutes, 1973, is repealed.
N.B. This Act is consolidated to September 1, 2011.