According to the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, the supreme law of the nation, the attorney general and minister of legal affairs of Trinidad and Tobago is the primary legal advisor to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.[3]
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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:
- Wholly Owned Enterprises
- Appointment to Quasi Judicial Bodies
- Law Reform
- Office of the Solicitor General
- Civil Litigation
- Legal Advice to the Government
- Office of Chief State Solicitor
- Administrator General
- Provisional Liquidator
- Provisional Receiver
- Public Trustee/Official Receiver
- Office of Chief Parliamentary Counsel
- Statutory Boards and other Bodies
- Corruption Investigation Bureau
- Anti-Corruption Squad
- Council of Legal Education
- Environmental Commission
- Equal Opportunity Commission
- Equal Opportunity Tribunal
- Hugh Wooding Law School
- Industrial Court
- Law Reform Commission
- Tax Appeal Board
- Trinidad only
- Gloster c.1805 [4]
- H. Fuller c.1828[5]
- Wylie c.1832 (acting)
- Edward Jackson, c.1840[6] (died 1846)
- Charles William Warner, 1844 to 1870[7]
- George Garcia, 1870 to 1873 [8]
- Henry Ludlow, 1874 to 1886 [9]
- Stephen Herbert Gatty, 1886 to 1889
- Trinidad united with Tobago, 1889
- Stephen Herbert Gatty, 1889 to ?1892
- George Lewis Garcia, 1892 to ?[8]
- Vincent Brown, 1903 to ? [10]
- Henry Gollan, 1911 to 1918
- Robert Stewart Aucher Warner, 1918 to ?1922[11]
- Sir Atholl MacGregor, 1926 to 1929
- Charles Wilton Wood Greenidge c.1930
- Sir Justin Louis Devaux 1935–1940[12]
- Wilcox Wilson c.1945[13]
- Joseph Leon Mathieu-Perez, c.1950 to 1957
- Sir Ellis Clarke, 1957 to 1961[14]
- Trinidad and Tobago became independent, 1962
- George Armsby Richards, 1962 to 1969[15]
- Karl Terrence Hudson-Phillips, 1969 to 1973 [15]
- Benjamin Llewellyn Basil Pitt, 1973 to 1976[15]
- Selwyn A. Richardson, 1976 to 1981[15]
- Russell Martineau, 1981 to 1986 [15]
- Selwyn A. Richardson, 1986 to 1989[15]
- Anthony Smart, 1989 to 1991 [15]
- Keith Sobion, 1991 to 1995[15]
- Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Nov. 1995 to Feb. 1996[15]
- Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, Feb. 1996 to Oct. 2001[15]
- Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Oct. 2001 to Dec. 2001[15]
- Glenda Morean-Phillip, Dec. 2001 to Nov. 2003[15]
- John Jeremie, 2003 to 2007[15]
- Bridgid Annisette-George, 2007 to 2009[15]
- John Jeremie, May, 2009 to 2010[15]
- Anand Ramlogan, 2010 to 2015[15]
- Garvin Nicholas, 3 February 2015 to 9 September 2015[15]
- Faris Al-Rawi, 9 September 2015 to 16 March 2022
- Reginald Armour, 16 March 2022 to present
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.
Garvey, Marcus. The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers. p. 215.
Lentz, Harris. Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. p. 758.
