Queen's Counsel
Attorney-General ( Queen's or King's Counsel, abbreviation QC or KC) is a designation for particularly experienced lawyers in England and Wales.
In Hanover, there was in the 19th century also the name of Attorney-General as an official title for the prosecutor and attorney general ( Kronoberanwalt ).
Importance
Ruled a queen, so Kronanwälte are referred to as Queen's Counsel, ruled a king, so is the name King's Counsel. Were also in some other countries of the Commonwealth or Kronanwälte be appointed.
The title of the Kronanwaltes is only awarded to very experienced and successful lawyers, thereby (represented by the Crown and the courts) by the State experience the official recognition. By the year 1996, only barristers could be called, this is now in special cases, for Solicitor possible. In 2002 there were in England and Wales 1145 Barrister entitled QC (at about 10,500 barristers in total ) and 7 Solicitors (with nearly 90,000 in total).
Kronanwälte are usually very successful and often specialized to the appearance in court lawyers who are partly extremely large sums of money. The currently best known QC likely to be Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. She prefers, however, to practice under her maiden name Cherie Booth.
Appeals process and reform discussion
The appeal has so far been annually by the Crown on the recommendation of Lord Chancellors, where everyone who met the formal criteria could apply. In special cases, the title was also awarded to non-practicing lawyers, about to particularly deserving legal scholars. Not least because of the " political appeal " to QC or KC only about a quarter of applicants are actually called. Currently, however, is a reform of opaque appeals system discussed or is the abolition of the title a total of talking.
Famous Kronanwälte (selection)
- Warington Baden -Powell (1847-1921), founder of the Sea Scouts, eldest brother of Robert Baden -Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement
- Judah Philip Benjamin (1811-1884), Minister of the Confederacy in the American Civil War and later a lawyer and author of a classic textbook on commercial law in England
- Godfrey Binaisa Lukongwa (1920-2010), 1979-1980 President of Uganda
- Cherie Blair (born 1954 ), wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
- Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne ( b. 1939 ), PC, is a barrister, British Conservative politician, former member of the British Parliament, the British government and the European Commission
- Sir Walter Menzies Campbell ( b. 1941 ), CBE, Scottish Member of the House and Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2006
- William John Ellis Cox ( b. 1936 ), Australian lawyer and judge, since 2004 the Governor of Tasmania
- Sir Richard Stafford Cripps (1889-1952), British lawyer and politician ( Labour Party )
- Alfred Thompson Denning, Baron Denning (1899-1999), OM, probably the most influential of the 20th century English judge and Master of the Rolls
- Sir William Robert Grove (1811-1896), lawyer and scientist, applies not only to Christian Friedrich Schönbein as the father of the fuel cell
- Dr. iur. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, (1841-1919), seventh Prime Minister of Canada, co-founder of the Liberal Party
- Sir Hartley Shawcross, William, Baron Shawcross, GBE, PC (1902-2003), British chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg trial of the major war criminals
- Sir Geoffrey Lawrence, 3rd Baron and 1st Baron Oaksey Trevethin, DSO ( 1880-1971 ), Chief Judge of the International Military Tribunal at the Nuremberg trial of the major war criminals
- Sir John Alexander Macdonald (1815-1891), GCB, First Prime Minister of Canada
- John Passmore Widgery, Baron Widgery (1911-1981), British judge, 1972-1980 Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Chairman of the Widgery Tribunal for the investigation of Bloody Sunday ( Bloody Sunday )