The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries. The department is headed by the U.S. attorney general, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. Merrick Garland has served as attorney general since March 2021 to 2025. The acting attorney general is James McHenry.
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enforcement, prosecutions or even responsibility for legal affairs generally. In practice, the extent to which the attorney general personally provides legal advice to the government varies between jurisdictions, and even between individual office-holders within the same jurisdiction, often depending on the level and nature of the office-holder's prior legal experience.
A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general is often the second-ranked law officer of the state and a deputy of the attorney general. The extent to which a solicitor general actually provides legal advice to or represents the government in court varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and sometimes varies between individual office holders in the same jurisdiction.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a local government area, typically a county or a group of counties. The exact scope of the office varies by state. Generally, the prosecutor is said to represent the people of the jurisdiction in the state's courts, typically in criminal matters, against defendants. District attorneys are elected in almost all states, and the role is generally partisan. This is unlike similar roles in other common law jurisdictions, where chief prosecutors are appointed based on merit and expected to be politically independent.
His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is the chief legal adviser to the sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales as well as the highest ranking amongst the law officers of the Crown. The attorney general is the leader of the Attorney General's Office and currently attends the Cabinet. Unlike in other countries employing the common law legal system, the attorney general does not govern the administration of justice; that function is carried out by the secretary of state for justice and lord chancellor. The incumbent is also concurrently advocate general for Northern Ireland.
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial against the defendant, an individual accused of breaking the law. Typically, the prosecutor represents the state or the government in the case brought against the accused person.
The Government Legal Department is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Profession.
The attorney general of Ireland is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does participate in cabinet meetings when invited and attends government meetings. The current attorney general is Rossa Fanning, SC.
The law officers are the senior legal advisors to His Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom and devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are variously referred to as the Attorney General, Solicitor General, Lord Advocate, or Advocate General depending on seniority and geography – though other terms are also in use, such as the Counsel General for Wales. Law officers in these roles are distinguished by being political appointees, while also being bound by the duties of independence, justice and confidentiality among the other typical professional commitments of lawyers. These roles do not have any direct oversight of prosecutions nor do they directly lead or influence criminal investigations. This is a distinguishing factor between law officers and the state attorneys general of the United States or US Attorney General.
The Wales Office, known as the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales between 2017 and 2024, is a department of His Majesty's Government. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales prior to Welsh devolution in 1999.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the Scottish legal system is responsible for prosecution, along with the sheriffdom procurators fiscal. In Scotland, virtually all prosecution of criminal offences is undertaken by the Crown. Private prosecutions are extremely rare.
The solicitor-general of Australia is the country's second highest-ranking law officer, after the Attorney-General for Australia. The current officeholder is Stephen Donaghue, who took office on 16 January 2017 following the resignation of Justin Gleeson.
The Legal Department, headed by the Attorney General, was the department responsible for the laws of Hong Kong until 1997, when Hong Kong ceased to be a British crown colony.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. Its stated priorities are to reduce re-offending and protect the public, to provide access to justice, to increase confidence in the justice system, and to uphold people's civil liberties. The Secretary of State is the minister responsible to Parliament for the judiciary, the court system, prisons, and probation in England and Wales, with some additional UK-wide responsibilities, e.g., the UK Supreme Court and judicial appointments by the Crown. The department is also responsible for areas of constitutional policy not transferred in 2010 to the Deputy Prime Minister, human rights law, and information rights law across the UK.
The Crown Law Office is the public service department charged with advising the New Zealand Government on legal affairs, representing the government in appellate cases, and overseeing the prosecution of criminal offences before the courts.
The advocate general for Northern Ireland is the chief legal adviser to the Government of the United Kingdom on Northern Ireland law and the post is held by the attorney general for England and Wales by virtue of that office. The advocate general and the solicitor general for England and Wales have, in Northern Ireland, the same rights of audience as members of the Bar of Northern Ireland. They are called to the Northern Ireland Bar in order to fulfill these duties.
The Attorney General of New South Wales, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for New South Wales and usually known simply as the Attorney General, is a minister in the Government of New South Wales who has responsibility for the administration of justice in New South Wales, Australia. In addition, the attorney general is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General, Crown Advocate, and Crown Solicitor, the attorney general serves as the chief legal and constitutional adviser of the Crown and Government of New South Wales.
Solicitor General for New South Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General. They can exercise the powers of the Attorney General in the Attorney General's absence. The Solicitor General acts alongside the Crown Advocate, and Crown Solicitor, and serves as one of the legal and constitutional advisers of the Crown and its government in the Australian state of New South Wales.
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