The Role of the Solicitor-General:Negotiating Law, Politics and the Public Interest '16
内容
Neither a Solicitor nor a General provides the first comprehensive analysis of the Second Law Officer in Australia, its history, characteristics and practice. To uncover the complexity of this office, this book undertakes its analysis in three parts. It provides the first holistic historical explanation of the Australian office from its roots in Mediaeval England as King's Solicitor through its incarnation as political minister, bureaucrat and now non-political independent statutory office. This leads into an in-depth analysis of the current legislative, common law and constitutional framework of the office, which is still largely informed by the traditional roles of the Law Officers as developed in England. Finally, it provides a lived portrait of the office by drawing on interviews with current and former Solicitors-General, Attorneys-General, other government lawyers and members of the judiciary. Its strength rests in the thoroughness and rigour brought to the analysis of the office of Solicitor-General, and the engagement with a number of different perspectives to inform that analysis.