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Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Asked by Valerie VazLabourAttorney GeneralTabled Answered 28 April 2025UIN 47200

The question

To ask the Solicitor General, whether he has produced legal advice on the compatibility of (a) Article 2 of the European Commission on Human Rights, (b) probate law and (c) civil procedure rules with the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

Answered by Lucy Rigby

The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by, or requested of, the Law Officers, and it applies to your question.

The Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:

“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”

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