Commentary on Sections Section 24: Consent to prosecution
142.This section requires that proceedings for offences under the Act may be instituted only by or with the consent of the Attorney General or the Attorney General for Northern Ireland. The intention is to prevent frivolous or otherwise undesirable prosecutions by private persons and to ensure consistency of approach. A similar provision is not needed for Scotland since criminal proceedings there are only brought by or on behalf of the Lord Advocate other than in very exceptional circumstances.