The attorney general, Baroness Scotland QC, has published a new protocol setting out her relationship with the prosecuting bodies she superintends.

The document outlines the roles and responsibilities of the attorney general and clarifies the extent of her role in individual prosecution cases. It also underlines and supports the independence of the prosecutors in taking prosecutorial decisions and aims to ensure there is proper public and parliamentary accountability of their conduct.

The protocol reflects the fact that, in practice, the attorney general is not informed of, nor has any involvement in, the conduct of the vast majority of individual cases.

It sets out the circumstances in which she may need to become involved in a case, for instance where it is necessary to safeguard national security, or where a case is particularly sensitive or reveals some wider systemic issue for criminal law or practice.

Unless for any reason, a decision is required from the attorney general by law, she will not be consulted in prosecution decisions relating to members of parliament, political parties or the conduct of elections, or in cases where she has a personal or professional conflict of interest.

The attorney and solicitor general remain answerable to parliament for the prosecuting bodies.

The document follows a government review that concluded the attorney general should retain the roles of legal adviser to the government, criminal justice minister with responsibility for the prosecuting authorities, and independent guardian of the public interest.

It was produced in collaboration with the directors of the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and the Revenue and Customs prosecutions Office.

Baroness Scotland said: ‘When I first came to review the role of the law officers and the relationship with the prosecuting authorities, it seemed to me that there was little or no clarity to the wider world about how the relationship worked and what superintendence meant.’

‘In order to increase public confidence in my role, I believed there needed to be a clearer delineation between the functions of the attorney general and of the prosecuting authorities.’

A copy of the protocol is available on the Attorney General’s website at www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk.