She was in the role for a decade
Una Jagose KC will vacate the solicitor-general post next February after a decade in the role, according to attorney-general Judith Collins.
Jagose first assumed the position on 15 February 2016. Prior to her tenure as solicitor-general, she had spent 35 years in the public service sector as a lawyer and leader, Collins said.
Collins confirmed that the public service commission would begin overseeing the appointment of a new solicitor-general.
The solicitor-general serves as the Crown Law Office’s chief executive, chief legal adviser to the government and the government’s advocate in the courts. The solicitor-general advises ministers, departments and government agencies; they also act as senior counsel for government interests in litigation and certain appellate court issues. A core responsibility of the solicitor-general is to guide the government on constitutional queries.
The solicitor-general also manages criminal jury trial prosecutions and Crown representation in conviction and sentence appeals. The solicitor-general is a non-political law officer, and can by statute exercise nearly all the attorney-general’s statutory functions.
In October 2024, Jagose faced some backlash over prosecution guidelines that instructed prosecutors to “think carefully about particular decisions where a person (whether the victim or the defendant) is Māori, or a member of any other group that is disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system”, per a snippet published by the NZ Herald. Jagose pulled the guidelines, which Collins would not endorse, following the criticism.
