The Attorney General John Larkin has said he will not have any direct role in the current political crisis, as Northern Ireland faces the possibility of entering Brexit with no working government.
Prior to Martin McGuiness' resignation Sinn Féin Health Minister Michelle O'Neill had proposed that an RHI investigation could be "undertaken by an independent judicial figure from outside this jurisdiction and be appointed by the Attorney General".
However, the Attorney General's office said at the time it had no power to establish an inquiry.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the scandal broke, Mr Larkin said yesterday that his role in the current political crisis would remain that of a lawyer and "nothing more than that".
"I'm not going to comment on RHI for all kinds of reasons, but there are certain conventions that exist in relation to advice that the Attorney General gives", he said.
"So for example it is a convention that the fact that advice is sought isn't disclosed.
"I'm not sure that necessarily came within that convention because it wasn't so much about advice, it was about potential involvement, but you know what if you are in an - at least partly - public facing role you got to expect a certain amount of that stuff.
"One of the great things about this job is that all of the ministers in the Executive know that when they come to me they have my utmost, undivided attention on that particular issue.
"Now you might have a number of them seeking advice on the same topic and maybe going away and comparing it, but I'm there for all of them", he said.
In relation to the possibility of a fresh election as British Prime minister Theresa May prepares to trigger Article 50, Mr Larkin said; "I'm not going to get involved in that at all, that's a matter for the politicians and not for me, I'm just a humble lawyer I give the best advice I can, nothing more than that".
The Attorney General was speaking after the launch of Speak Up, a guide to laws impacting Christian freedoms in the workplace and in civic society, produced by the Evangelical Alliance and launched in the Skainos centre in east Belfast.
Mr Larkin, a devout Catholic, has denied letting his faith influence his decisions which have included involvement in the Ashers 'gay cake' case and the issue of same sex adoption.
He said yesterday he has never held himself up as a "model or an example" and acts only in "accordance" with the law.
"I'm a lawyer and think everyone should know what the law is, and given the cultural complexities of this place where Christianity - at least nominally - has a dominant presence, it's particularly important for Christians, but it's important for everyone to know the law as to what they can and can't do", he said.
"I've never held myself out as a model or an example, but I've never made a secret of being a Catholic, so I don't think it should have come as any huge surprise
"It's important to distinguish between those areas where your views may act a part and those where they don't, because it doesn't matter what I might wish the law to be on topic X, if I think that the law is X then I'm going to act in accordance with that.
"So look at what I said about Ashers, the court of appeal judgment for now is the law of the land," he added.
