BILL 30
An Act Respecting
the Office of the Attorney General
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:
Definitions
1 The 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
2 The 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
5 The Crown Prosecutors Act, chapter C-39
of the Revised Statutes, 1973, is repealed.