A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals,drafting legal pleadings,researching the law and giving legal opinions.
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly,across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate,attorney,barrister,canon lawyer,civil law notary,counsel,solicitor,legal executive,and public servant —with each role having different functions and privileges. Working as a lawyer generally involves the practical application of abstract legal theories and knowledge to solve specific problems. Some lawyers also work primarily in advancing the interests of the law and legal profession.
A notary public of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions,estates,deeds,powers-of-attorney,and foreign and international business. A notary's main functions are to validate the signature of a person;administer oaths and affirmations;take affidavits and statutory declarations,including from witnesses;authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents;take acknowledgments;provide notice of foreign drafts;provide exemplifications and notarial copies;and,to perform certain other official acts depending on the jurisdiction. Such transactions are known as notarial acts,or more commonly,notarizations. The term notary public only refers to common-law notaries and should not be confused with civil-law notaries.
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.
An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in court on the retainer of clients. As of January 1,2023,there were 1,331,290 active lawyers in the United States. In terms of absolute numbers,the American legal profession was the largest in the world as of 2015,and it is thought to be the largest in the world in proportion to domestic population. A 2012 survey conducted by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell determined 58 million consumers in the U.S. sought an attorney in the last year and that 76 percent of consumers used the Internet to search for an attorney.
Civil-law notaries,or Latin notaries,are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft,take,and record legal instruments for private parties,provide legal advice and give attendance in person,and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State. As opposed to most notaries public,their common-law counterparts,civil-law notaries are highly trained,licensed practitioners providing a full range of regulated legal services,and whereas they hold a public office,they nonetheless operate usually—but not always—in private practice and are paid on a fee-for-service basis. They often receive generally the same education as attorneys at civil law with further specialized education but without qualifications in advocacy,procedural law,or the law of evidence,somewhat comparable to solicitor training in certain common-law countries.
The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictions that have chosen to change the title "King's Counsel" to a name without monarchical connotations,usually related to the British monarch that is no longer head of state,such that reference to the King is no longer appropriate. Examples of jurisdictions that have made the change because of the latter reason include Mauritius,Zambia,India,Hong Kong,Ireland,South Africa,Kenya,Malawi,Singapore,Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. Jurisdictions that have retained the monarch as head of state,but have nonetheless opted for the new title include some states and territories of Australia,as well as Belize.
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.
Sir (William) Henry Garrioch was the acting governor-general of Mauritius from 31 October 1977 until 23 March 1978.
Cherno Sulayman Jallow is a Gambian lawyer and judge who serves as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Gambia. He previously served as Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands from 1999 to 2007.
A President's Counsel is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka as an individual "learned in the law". The term is an honorific that replaced the Queen's Counsel (QC),which Sri Lanka ceased appointing when it became a republic in 1972. It is equivalent to the appointment of a King's Counsel in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms,and that of Senior Counsel in Commonwealth republics,bearing the same privileges,such as sitting within the Bar of court.
The legal system of Ukraine is based on civil law,and belongs to the Romano-Germanic legal tradition. The main source of legal information is codified law. Customary law and case law are not as common,though case law is often used in support of the written law,as in many other legal systems. Historically,the Ukrainian legal system is primarily influenced by the French civil code,Roman Law,and traditional Ukrainian customary law. The new civil law books were heavily influenced by the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch.
The law of Jersey has been influenced by several different legal traditions,in particular Norman customary law,English common law and modern French civil law. The Bailiwick of Jersey is a separate jurisdiction from that of the United Kingdom,and is also distinct from that of the other Channel Islands such as Guernsey,although they do share some historical developments. Jersey's legal system is 'mixed' or 'pluralistic',and sources of law are in French and English languages,although since the 1950s the main working language of the legal system is English.
Tan Boon Teik was a Singaporean judge who served as the second attorney-general of Singapore between 1969 and 1992. At the age of 39,Tan was the youngest person to be appointed as attorney-general,and was the longest-serving attorney-general after the Independence of Singapore,after 25 years in office.
The Solicitor General of Hong Kong is head of the Legal Policy Division of the Department of Justice (律政司) in Hong Kong. He is responsible for the development of legal policy,advising the Secretary for Justice on legal issues,and overseeing the department's staff and legislative programme.
The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was a proposed body which would have been responsible for the recruitment,appointment and transfer of judicial officers,legal officers and legal employees under the government of India and in all state governments of India. The commission was established by amending the Constitution of India through the 99th constitution amendment with the Constitution (Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act,2014 or 99th Constitutional Amendment Act-2014 passed by the Lok Sabha on 13 August 2014 and by the Rajya Sabha on 14 August 2014. The NJAC would have replaced the collegium system for the appointment of judges as invoked by the Supreme Court via judicial fiat by a new system. Along with the Constitution Amendment Act,the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act,2014,was also passed by the Parliament of India to regulate the functions of the National Judicial Appointments Commission. The NJAC Bill and the Constitutional Amendment Bill,was ratified by 16 of the state legislatures in India,and subsequently assented by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 31 December 2014. The NJAC Act and the Constitutional Amendment Act came into force from 13 April 2015.
Same-sex marriage is currently not recognised nor performed in Bermuda,a British Overseas Territory,but it was legal between 2017 and 2022. However,marriages performed during that period remain valid.
The Attorney General of Seychelles is the head of the Department of Legal Affairs and is responsible for criminal prosecution,civil litigation and notarial work. The chambers advises the government on all legal matters that pertain to international law and relations—in particular,any matters that pertain to international contracting. Additionally,the chambers provides legal advice and services to any government organisations,drafts legislation,and conducts law reform if needed.
The Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) is an Australian Commonwealth government agency established under the Parliamentary Counsel Act 1970 (Cth) within the Commonwealth Attorney-General's portfolio. OPC drafts all government Bills that are introduced into the federal Parliament,legislative instruments made by the Governor-General,and a range of other delegated legislation. It also manages the Federal Register of Legislation to provide access to authorised,up-to-date versions of Commonwealth laws.
Bronte Clucas Quayle,CB,OBE,SPK,QC was an Australian barrister,civil servant,military officer and solicitor who served the first Australian parliamentary draftsman,and was later appointed Queen's Counsel for Canberra in 1978. He also served in the Attorney-General's Department in 1950. He drafted the 1962 Constitution of Pakistan as a consultant drafter.
