Crown Law Office

The Crown Law Office provides legal advice and representation to the New Zealand Government, its departments, ministries and agencies in matters affecting the Crown. It has two primary aims: - to ensure that the operations of executive government are conducted lawfully - to ensure that the government is not prevented, through the legal process, from lawfully implementing its chosen policies.

The Solicitor-General, the chief executive of the Crown Law Office, is the chief legal advisor to the Government (subject to any views expressed by the Attorney-General). In addition, the Solicitor-General is responsible for the conduct of the prosecution of indictable crime. The office of Solicitor-General is entrusted by statute with specific rights, duties and functions and is also responsible for performing most of the statutory and ex-officio duties of the Attorney-General.

The Office is organised into three groups - Constitutional, Criminal Process and Public Law, which reflect the range of legal advice and litigation services provided. Each group is headed by a Deputy Solicitor-General and comprises a number of specialist teams.