The Shawcross principle is an idea in the United Kingdom's

Westminster system The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary system, parliamentary government that incorporates a series of Parliamentary procedure, procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of ...

of government, whereby the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

is to be left to his or her own devices and judgments regarding whether or not to establish

criminal proceedings Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or ...

. It relates to political pressure and

cabinet government A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they are ...

. It is named for Hartley Shawcross,

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

from 1945 to 1951.

History

What is now known as the Shawcross principle was the subject of debate in the UK Parliament on 29 January 1951. In a lengthy defence of his conduct regarding an illegal strike,

Hartley Shawcross cited hundreds of years of

precedent Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...

as to the firm foundation of his actions. The principle (or doctrine) states: * that the Attorney General must take into account matters of public interest, * that assistance from cabinet colleagues must be limited to advice, * that responsibility for the decision is that of the Attorney General alone, and * that the government is not to put pressure on him or her. The 1964 Rivard affair in Canada caused the sitting Attorney-General, Guy Favreau, to resign because of his non-prosecution of senior officials in the Pearson government over their attempted bribery of American officials in Rivard's case. The Shawcross principle was cited by Australian Attorney-General Bob Ellicott who cited attempts by his boss,

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

, to control his discretion. In 2004 in the context of the

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...

, a

whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

by the name of Katharine Gun risked prosecution under the

Official Secrets Act An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of Classified information, state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security. However, in its unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secret ...

. Lawyers for Gun, who was formerly a

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom. Primar ...

translator, asked for disclosure of advice on the legality of the Iraq war given by Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith in his role as the government's legal adviser. Goldsmith said that he had conducted what is known as a "Shawcross exercise". Goldsmith sent a "Shawcross letter" to the foreign secretary,

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...

, who was responsible for GCHQ, advising him that HMG should decline to pursue Gun. The Shawcross Principle was the judicial doctrine that the ethics commissioner Mario Dion said Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

breached in the

Jody Wilson-Raybould Jody Wilson-Raybould (born March 23, 1971), also known by her initials JWR and by her Kwak’wala name Puglaas, is a Canadian lawyer, author, and former politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for the British Columbia (BC) ri ...

- SNC Lavalin bribery and fraud prosecution case.

Commentary

* * * * * * * * Wong Yan Lung, ''The Secretary for Justice as the Protector of the Public Interest – Continuity and Development'' (2007) 37 HKLJ 319

References

{{reflist Parliamentary procedure Constitution of the United Kingdom Political systems Common law

History

See also

Commentary

References