Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago
| Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago | |
|---|---|
since 1 May 2025 | |
| Office of the Attorney General | |
| Style | The Honourable |
| Member of |
|
| Reports to | |
| Appointer | President on the advice of the prime minister |
| Term length | At the pleasure of the president |
| Precursor | Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs |
| Inaugural holder | Archibald Gloster |
| Formation | 1805 |
| Final holder | Camille Robinson-Regis |
| Deputy | Minister in the Ministry of Attorney General, Devesh Maharaj |
| Salary | TT$ 492,360 (2019) annually[2] |
| Website | agla |
| Trinidad and Tobago portal |
According to the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, the supreme law of the nation, the attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago is the primary legal advisor to the government of Trinidad and Tobago.[3] The current attorney general is John Jeremie appointed on 1 May 2025.[1] Devesh Maharaj is a Minister in the Office of the Attorney General, he is also the Minister of Justice.[4] Saddam Hosein is the Minister of land and Legal Affairs.[4][5]
Roles and function
The attorney general is a member of the Government and has two separate constitutional roles, a governmental role, in which he acts as a member of Government in the performance of his duties, and a role as the guardian of the public interest, when he acts independently in a quasi-judicial capacity.
The provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago require the attorney general to be responsible for the administration of legal affairs within the country. Legal proceedings for and against the State must be taken in the name of the attorney general (in the case of civil proceedings) and in the name of the State (in the case of criminal proceedings).
The attorney general has responsibility for the following departments[6][7][5][8]
- Anti-Money Laundering, Counter Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/PF)
- Anti-Terrorism Unit
- (AML/CFT/PF) Compliance Unit
- Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau[9]
- Appointment to Quasi Judicial Bodies
- Department of Civil Law
- Office of the Solicitor General
- Administrator General
- Civil Litigation
- Conveyancing
- Custodian of Enemy Property
- Government Contracts
- Legal Advice to Government
- Provisional Liquidator
- Provisional Receiver
- Public Trustee/Official Receiver
- Chief State Attorney
- Children's Attorney
- Criminal Justice Unit
- International Office of Child Rights
- International Law and Human Rights Unit
- Judiciary
- Law Reform
- Legislative Agenda
- National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Committee
- National Biosafety
- Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel
- Legislative Drafting
- Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Statutory Boards and Other Bodies:
- Central Authority
- Civil Child Abduction Authority
- Industrial Court Law Reform Commission
- Strategic Services Agency
- Intelligence
- Strategy
List of attorneys-general
Trinidad only
- Gloster c.1805 [10]
- H. Fuller c.1828[11]
- Wylie c.1832 (acting)
- Edward Jackson, c.1840[12] (died 1846)
- Charles William Warner, 1844 to 1870[13]
- George Garcia, 1870 to 1873 [14]
- Henry Ludlow, 1874 to 1886 [15]
- Stephen Herbert Gatty, 1886 to 1889
Trinidad united with Tobago, 1889
- Stephen Herbert Gatty, 1889 to ?1892
- George Lewis Garcia, 1892 to ?[14]
- Vincent Brown, 1903 to ? [16]
- Henry Gollan, 1911 to 1918
- Robert Stewart Aucher Warner, 1918 to ?1922[17]
- Sir Atholl MacGregor, 1926 to 1929
- Charles Wilton Wood Greenidge c.1930
- Sir Justin Louis Devaux 1935–1940[18]
- Wilcox Wilson c.1945[19]
- Joseph Leon Mathieu Perez, c.1950 to 1957
- Sir Ellis Clarke, 1957 to 1961[20]
Trinidad and Tobago became independent, 1962
- George Armsby Richards, 1962 to 1969[21]
- Karl Terrence Hudson-Phillips, 1969 to 1973 [21]
- Benjamin Pitt, 1973 to 1976[21]
- Selwyn A. Richardson, 1976 to 1981[21]
- Russell Martineau, 1981 to 1986 [21]
- Selwyn A. Richardson, 1986 to 1989[21]
- Anthony Smart, 1989 to 1991 [21]
- Keith Sobion, 1991 to 1995[21]
- Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Nov. 1995 to Feb. 1996[21]
- Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, Feb. 1996 to Oct. 2001[21]
- Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Oct. 2001 to Dec. 2001[21]
- Glenda Morean-Phillip, Dec. 2001 to Nov. 2003[21]
- John Jeremie, 2003 to 2007[21]
- Bridgid Annisette-George, 2007 to 2009[21]
- John Jeremie, May, 2009 to 2010[21]
- Anand Ramlogan, 2010 to 2015[21]
- Garvin Nicholas, 3 February 2015 to 9 September 2015[21]
- Faris Al-Rawi, 9 September 2015 to 16 March 2022
- Reginald Armour, 16 March 2022 to March 2025
- Camille Robinson-Regis, 17 March 2025 to 30 April 2025[22]
- John Jeremie, 1 May 2025 to present
Ministry of Land and Legal Affairs
| Minister of Land and legal Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago | |
|---|---|
The "Coat of Arms" is used as the Ministry's seal. | |
since 12 May 2025 | |
| Ministry of Land and Legal affairs | |
| Style | Minister |
| Member of |
|
| Reports to | |
| Seat | Port of Spain |
| Nominator | Prime Minister |
| Appointer | President on the advice of the prime minister |
| Precursor | Office of the Attorney General and Minister of legal Affairs |
| Final holder | Camille Robinson-Regis |
| Website | https://agla.gov.tt/ |
The Minister of Land and Legal Affairs has responsibility for the following departments:[7][23][5][24]
- Law Revision
- Commissioner of Affidavits
- Justice of the Peace
- Lands and Surveys
- Land Management
- Liquor License
- Marriage License
- Regularisation of Tenure/Housing for Squatters
- Surveys and Mapping
- Valuation
- Registrar General
- Companies Registry
- Civil Registry
- Land Registry
- Rent Restriction
- Intellectual Property
- Industrial Property
- Copyright and Related Rights
- Trademarks
Statutory Boards and Other Bodies:
- Law Revision Commission
- Land Settlement Agency
- Land Survey Board of Trinidad and Tobago
- Rent Assessment Board
Wholly Owned Enterprises:
- Estate Management and Business Development Company Limited
Ministry of Justice
The Minister of Justice has responsibility for the following departments:[25][5]
- Alternate Dispute Resolution
- Construction and Refurbishment of the Court Facilities for the Judiciary
- Criminal Justice System –
- Quicker Justice Initiative Programme
- Reform and Transformation
- Electronic Monitoring
- Forensic Services
- DNA Services
- Probation Services Offender Management –
- Youth Re-Offender Programme
- Victims of Crime
- Charter and Counselling
- Compensation
- Legal Service Complaints
Committees:
- Advisory Committee on the Power of Pardon (Mercy Committee)
Statutory Boards and Other Bodies:
- Environmental Commission
- Equal Opportunity Commission
- Equal Opportunity Tribunal
- Legal Aid and Advisory Authority
- Criminal Injuries Compensation Board
See also
- Justice ministry
- Ministry of Finance (Trinidad and Tobago)
- Minister of Foreign Affairs (Trinidad and Tobago)
- Ministry of Homeland Security (Trinidad and Tobago)
- Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago
- Politics of Trinidad and Tobago
References
- ^ a b https://newsday.co.tt/2025/05/01/kamla-persad-bissessar-sworn-in-as-prime-minister-john-jeremie-as-ag/
- ^ "Numbered-Draft-Estimates-Statutory-Boards-2019.pdf" (PDF). Ministry of Finance. Ministry of Finance. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "Roles and Functions". Ministry of the Attorney General. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ a b Reporter, Newsday (2025-05-03). "Trinidad and Tobago's new government". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2025-09-23.
- ^ a b c d "Cabinet portfolio changes: Who's responsible for what". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
- ^ Gazette No. 46 Vol. 64 Thursday 20th March 2025, section 405, page 846 https://printery.gov.tt/e-gazette/2025/Gazette/Gazette_No._46_of_2025.pdf
- ^ a b Gazette No. 81 Vol. 64 Friday 23th May 2025 https://printery.gov.tt/e-gazette/2025/Gazette/Gazette_No._81_of_2025.pdf
- ^ Gazette (Extraordinary) No. 146 Vol. 64 Saturday 4th October, 2025, section 1248, page 2318
- ^ Burnie, Gregory Mc (2025-10-07). "CoP has 'faith, trust' in ACIB despite move to Office of Attorney General". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
- ^ Fraser, Lionel. History of Trinidad from 1781-1839 and 1891-1896. p. 21.
- ^ Fraser, Lionel. History of Trinidad from 1781-1839 and 1891-1896. p. 220.
- ^ The Royal Kalendar and Court and City Register for England, Scotland, Ireland and Colonies, 1840. p. 405.
- ^ Chapman, J. K. (1964). The Career of Arthur Hamilton Gordon: First Lord Stanmore 1829-1912. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442652699.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ a b Brereton, Bridget. Race Relations in Colonial Trinidad 1870-1900. p. 54.
- ^ "Ludlow Family" (PDF). Ludlowfamilyresearch.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
- ^ "No. 27603". The London Gazette. 6 October 1903. p. 6087.
- ^ Garvey, Marcus. The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers. p. 215.
- ^ "Seychelles Chief Justice and the First Coup d'état". Seychellesweekly.com. 1943-01-01. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
- ^ "History of the Credit Union Movement | The Co-operative Credit Union League of Trinidad & Tobago". Ccultt.org. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
- ^ Lentz, Harris. Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. p. 758.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Past Attorneys General". Ministry of the Attornry General. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ Fraser, Narissa (2025-03-17). "Camille Robinson-Regis is Attorney General". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
- ^ Gazette No. 46 Vol. 64 Thursday 20th March 2025, section 760, page 1782 https://printery.gov.tt/e-gazette/2025/Gazette/Gazette_No._81_of_2025.pdf
- ^ Gazette (Extraordinary) No. 146 Vol. 64 Saturday 4th October, 2025, section 1267.1268, page 2331,2332 https://printery.gov.tt/e-gazette/2025/Gazette/Gazette_No._146_of_2025.pdf
- ^ Gazette (Extraordinary) No. 146 Vol. 64 Saturday 4th October, 2025, section 1265, page 2330