Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Keywords
Attorney General, Rule of law, Law society, Professional discipline, Conflicts of interest, Abuse of power
Abstract
In December 2025, Alberta became the second Canadian province to grant its Attorney General statutory immunity from law society discipline. This comment analyzes this amendment to the Legal Profession Act and the rationales and critiques that emerged during the legislative process. It argues that, while some of the critiques were misplaced, the rationales given by the government are problematic in themselves and insufficient to justify the tension between the immunity of the Attorney General to law society discipline and the constitutional principle of the rule of law. In the absence of a more clearly articulated and justified rationale for adopting this kind of provision at this time, concerns about its tension with the rule of law are legitimate and unavoidable.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Andrew Flavelle Martin, "Statutory Immunity of the Attorney General From Law Society Discipline in Alberta: A Comment in Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2025" (2026) 65:1 Alta L Rev 1.
