Crown attorney

Jurisdictional issues

Although the enactment of criminal law is under federal jurisdiction in Canada, the prosecution of most Criminal Code offences—outside of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut—is the responsibility of the provincial Attorneys General and their lawful deputies by virtue of the "interpretation" section of the Criminal Code. As a result, the vast majority of crown attorneys are employed by Canada's ten provinces.

Lawyers who act on civil or administrative matters for the provincial Crown are not referred to as crown attorneys (Senior General Counsel, general counsel), or simply crown counsel. Both criminal and civil attorneys are generally considered to be agents of their province's Attorney General and reports to their office. Lawyers who work for the Federal Ministry of Justice are often referred to as Crowns even if acting in civil matters. Moreover, lawyers, students-at-law and other persons who only represent the Crown on provincial offences matters (such as municipal by-law enforcement and traffic offences) are referred to as "provincial prosecutors" or "provincial offences attorneys" (POAs) rather than crown attorneys. Regardless of whether the prosecuted matter is a criminal offence or a provincial offence, crown Attorneys represent and argue on behalf of the Crown.

Ontario

In the province of Ontario, the name of the official is Crown attorney. The Attorney General of Ontario appoints one Crown attorney per judicial district. The Crown attorney is charged with supervising the Crown attorney's office at the local level, and has a level of autonomy from the Attorney General's office. A Crown attorney will then, in consultation with the Attorney General's office, hire assistant crown attorneys to staff the office and prosecute offences.

As crown attorneys are not elected, the Canadian prosecutorial system is often seen as less politically motivated than other systems.

Term used for the office in different jurisdictions

• Federal: Crown counsel
• Alberta: Crown prosecutor
• British Columbia: Crown counsel
• Manitoba: Crown attorney
• New Brunswick: Crown prosecutor
• Newfoundland and Labrador: Crown attorney
• Nova Scotia: Crown attorney
• Ontario: Crown attorney
• Prince Edward Island: Crown attorney
• Quebec: Criminal and penal prosecuting attorney
• Saskatchewan: Crown prosecutor
• Northwest Territories: Crown counsel
• Nunavut: Crown counsel
• Yukon: Crown counsel

References

;Sources

• Crown attorney on the Canadian Encyclopedia

es:Fiscalía General

References

1. {{Cite canlaw. (1985)
2. Ministry of the Attorney General. "Crown Prosecution Manual".
3. [https://www.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca/eng/pub/fpsd-sfpg/fps-sfp/tpd/p2/ch02.htmlPublic Prosecution Service of Canada: 2.2 Duties and Responsibilities of Crown Counsel.]
4. [https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-crown-prosecution-service Alberta Crown Prosecution Service.]
5. [https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/bc-prosecution-service BC Prosecution Service.]
6. [https://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/crown/prosecutions/role.html Manitoba Prosecution Service: Role of the Manitoba Prosecution Service.]
7. [https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ag-pg/PDF/en/PublicProsecutionOperationalManual/Policies/Interpretation.pdf New Brunswick — Office of Attorney General — Public Prosecutions Operational Manual — Chapter II: Interpretation and Application.]
8. [https://www.gov.nl.ca/jps/ Newfoundland and Labrador — Justice and Public Safety — Prosecutions — Public Prosecutions Guide Book.]
9. [https://novascotia.ca/pps/crown_manual.asp Nova Scotia Crown Attorney Manual: Prosecution and Administrative Policies for the PPS.]
10. [https://www.ontario.ca/document/crown-prosecution-manual/words-and-phrases Ontario Law and Safety — Crown Prosecution Manual — Words and Phrases.]
11. [https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/files/publications/guide_book_of_policies_and_procedures_for_the_conduct_of_criminal_prosecutions.pdf ''Guide Book of Policies and Procedures for the Conduct of Criminal Prosecutions in Prince Edward Island'', "Introduction", p. 1-1.]
12. [https://www.quebec.ca/en/justice-et-etat-civil/systeme-judiciaire/intervenants-du-systeme-judiciaire/le-procureur-aux-poursuites-criminelles-et-penales/role-prosecuting-attorneys Gouvernement du Québec — Justice and civil status — Criminal and Penal Prosecutors — Role of Criminal and Penal Prosecuting Attorneys.] (Also called prosecutor, Crown prosecutor, prosecution lawyer, or public prosecutor.)
13. [https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/directory?ou=79c027dd-1984-42e0-82f7-898d7a42ba78 Saskatchewan Government Directory: Justice and Attorney General — Public Prosecutions.]
14. In all three territories, criminal prosecutions are conducted by federal Crown counsel: [https://www.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca/eng/bas/index.html#section_1_9 Public Prosecution Service of Canada — About the PPSC — Areas of Prosecution.]