Solicitor General for New South Wales

Solicitor General for New South Wales
Incumbent
Michael Sexton SC
since February 1998
Department of Justice
Appointer Governor of New South Wales
Term length 10 years
Inaugural holder John Stephen
Formation 8 August 1824
Website NSW Department of Justice

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. He or she 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 the legal and constitutional advisers of the Crown and its government in the Australian state of New South Wales.

The Solicitor General is addressed in court as "Mr Solicitor" or ''Ms Solicitor''. Despite the title, the position is usually held by a barrister, and almost exclusively by QCs or SCs. Previously a political appointment like the Attorney General is today, since 1922 the Solicitor General is now a professional position within the Department of Justice.

History and function

The Solicitor General operates under the provisions of the Solicitor General Act 1969.[1] Section 2 of the act stipulates that the Solicitor General must be "an Australian lawyer of at least 7 years’ standing" and must not be a Minister of the Crown. The retirement age is set at 72.[1] The Solicitor General acts as Senior Counsel for the Crown in the High Court of Australia and other courts, and advises the Attorney General on civil and criminal matters, including issues of constitutional law.[2] Until 1987, the Solicitor General had the power to initiate Crown appeals at the Court of Criminal Appeal in NSW, it then became the responsibility of the Director of Public Prosecutions.[3]

Office-holders

Solicitors General, 1824–1922

Ordinal Solicitor General Party affiliation Period
1 John Stephen[4] No party 8 August 1824 – 14 June 1832
2 John Plunkett 14 June 1832 – 16 September 1836
3 William à Beckett[5] March 1841 – July 1844
4 William Montagu Manning September 1844 – 5 June 1856
5 John Darvall 6 June 1856 – 25 August 1856
6 Alfred Lutwyche 12 September 1856 – 2 October 1856
– John Darvall 3 October 1856 – 23 May 1857
7 Edward Wise 23 May 1857 – 7 September 1857
– Alfred Lutwyche 7 September 1857 – 14 November 1858
8 William Bede Dalley 15 November 1858 – 11 February 1859
9 John Hargrave 21 February 1859 – 8 March 1860
– Office not in use N/A N/A
– John Hargrave No party 1 August 1863 – 15 October 1863
10 Peter Faucett 16 October 1863 – 2 February 1865
– John Hargrave 3 February 1865 – 21 June 1865
– Office not in use N/A N/A
11 Robert Isaacs No party 22 January 1866 – 26 October 1868
12 Joshua Josephson 27 October 1868 – 9 September 1869
13 Julian Salomons 18 December 1869 – 15 December 1870
14 William Charles Windeyer 16 December 1870 – 13 May 1872
15 Joseph Innes 14 May 1872 – 19 November 1873
– Office not in use N/A N/A
16 Richard O'Connor Protectionist 19 July 1893 – 13 September 1893
– Office not in use N/A N/A
17 George Reid Free Trade 21 December 1894 – 5 March 1895
– Office not in use N/A N/A
18 John Garland Liberal Reform 21 December 1909 – 20 October 1910
– Office not in use N/A N/A
19 David Hall Labor 2 April 1912 – 29 June 1913
– Office not in use N/A N/A
20 William Holman Labor 19 January 1915 – 6 February 1915
– Office not in use N/A N/A
– John Garland Nationalist 15 November 1916 – 23 July 1919
21 John Daniel FitzGerald 23 July 1919 – 12 April 1920
22 Robert Sproule Labor 15 April 1920 – 13 April 1922

Solicitors General, 1923–present

Ordinal Solicitor General Term start Term end Time in office Notes
23 Cecil Edward Weigall QC 27 December 1922 August 1953 30 years, 217 days [6]
24 Harold Snelling QC August 1953 September 1974 21 years, 31 days [7]
25 Reginald Marr QC September 1974 March 1978 3 years, 181 days
26 Gregory Sullivan QC February 1979 February 1981 2 years, 0 days
27 Mary Gaudron QC 16 February 1981 February 1987 5 years, 350 days
28 Keith Mason QC February 1987 February 1997 10 years, 0 days
– Leslie Katz SC (Acting) February 1997 February 1998 1 year, 0 days
29 Michael Sexton SC February 1998 present 18 years, 321 days

References

  1. 1 2 "SOLICITOR GENERAL ACT 1969 - SECT 2". New South Wales Consolidated Acts. Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Solicitor General". NSW State Records. NSW Government. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  3. ↑ Nader QC, John (2011). "The failed art of sentencing offenders" (PDF). Bar News. NSW Bar Association. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Currey, C. H. "Stephen, John (1771–1833)" (published first in hardcopy 1967). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  5. ↑ Coppel, E. G. "'à Beckett, Sir William (1806–1869)" (published first in hardcopy 1969). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  6. ↑ Mason, Keith. Weigall, Cecil Edward (1870–1955) (published first in hardcopy 1990). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Bennett, J. M. "Snelling, Harold Alfred Rush (1904–1979)" (published first in hardcopy 2002). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
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