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65-590: In 1994, the attorneys general of four states— Mississippi , Minnesota , Florida , and Texas —separately filed lawsuits against the tobacco industry in an effort to secure reimbursement for health care expenditures arising from tobacco-related illnesses. During the course of this litigation, 42 other states joined in similar legal actions. The library of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) had started digitizing and hosting internal tobacco industry documents in 1995 as part of wider efforts to make public what

130-526: A barrister, is the principal legal adviser to the government and holds the office of a minister. The Attorney-General's Office is also responsible for the drafting of legislation, and vetting of all contracts or agreements of which the government is a party, including international agreements, treaties or conventions. In Nepal , the attorney general is the chief legal adviser of the Government of Nepal as well as its chief public prosecutor. An Attorney General

195-717: A legal system which is partially derived from the common law tradition, share a common provenance. In Australia , the attorney-general is the chief law officer of the Crown and a member of the Cabinet . The Attorney-General is the minister responsible for legal affairs, national and public security, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation . Mark Dreyfus is the current Attorney-General. The Australian states each have separate attorneys-general , who are state ministers with similar responsibilities to

260-597: A long time. The Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte , QC, MP is the new Attorney General of Jamaica as of March 7, 2016. In Kenya the Attorney General is the Principal Legal Adviser to the Government and ex officio Member of Parliament and Cabinet . His duties include the formulation of legal policy and ensuring proper administration of Kenya's legal system including professional legal education. Assisting

325-534: A term that also originates from French (" major-général ") and also has a postpositive adjective, it also appears incorrectly as "attorney generals" . While Steven Pinker writes: "So if you are ever challenged for saying attorney-generals, mother-in-laws , passerbys ... you can reply, 'They are the very model of the modern major general' " (a reference to the Major-General's Song , from the operetta The Pirates of Penzance ). The modern title of major general

390-419: A variety of French, which was spoken in the law courts, schools, universities and in sections of the gentry and the bourgeoisie, the term relating to government was introduced into English. The phrase attorney general is composed of a noun followed by the postpositive adjective general and as other French compounds its plural form also appears as "attorneys generals" . As compared to major generals ,

455-569: A wide variety of non-criminal violations of rules and norms, effected through the imposition of less severe consequences such as probation. Law enforcement organizations existed in ancient times, such as prefects in ancient China , paqūdus in Babylonia , curaca in the Inca Empire , vigiles in the Roman Empire , and Medjay in ancient Egypt . Who law enforcers were and reported to depended on

520-481: Is a military rank in which the word "general" is not used as an adjective but as a noun, which can be pluralized. In modern public discourse, attorneys general are often referred to or addressed as “general”. In this construction, the word “general” is an adjective, and its use as a noun is incorrect. Attorneys general, despite carrying the title of "general", are not military officers and carry no rank. Attorneys-General in common law jurisdictions, and jurisdictions with

585-739: Is a national police agency, which supervises the police agencies for each individual prefecture ; and in Niger , there is a national police for urban areas and a gendarmerie for rural areas, both technically national-level. In some cases, there may be multiple agencies at the same level but with different focuses: for example, in the United States, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are both national-level federal law enforcement agencies, but

650-481: Is also the principal public prosecutor in the country, and is also known as the Public Prosecutor. He has the power, exercisable at his discretion, to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for an offence, other than proceedings before a Syariah court, a native court or a court-martial. The current Attorney-General of Malaysia is Idris Harun since 2020. In Mauritius , the attorney-general, who should be

715-626: Is appointed by the President on recommendation of the Prime Minister . The Attorney General's Office is a constitutional body under the Constitution of Nepal (2015) . For a person to be eligible for the post of Attorney General, they must also be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court . In New Zealand , the attorney-general is the chief law officer and primary legal advisor of

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780-459: Is autonomous or dependent on other organizations for its operations, the governing body that funds and oversees the agency may decide to dissolve or consolidate its operations. Dissolution of an agency may occur when the governing body or the agent itself decides to end operations. This can occur due to multiple reasons, including criminal justice reform , a lack of population in the jurisdiction, mass resignations , efforts to deter corruption , or

845-665: Is headed by an Administrative Officer.) Crimes and offences are prosecuted at the suit of the Secretary of Justice. The Secretary of Justice, appointed by the Chinese government on the advice of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong , is an ex officio member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong . The position is normally held by a legal professional , and was, before July 2002, a civil service position. The Attorney General for India

910-527: Is not personally involved with prosecutions; however, some prosecutions (e.g. riot ) cannot be commenced without their consent, and they have the power to halt prosecutions generally. Criminal prosecutions are the responsibility of the Crown Prosecution Service , headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions . The Attorney General may appeal cases to the higher courts where, although the particular case

975-726: Is settled, there may be a point of law of public importance at issue. The Attorney General's deputy is the Solicitor General for England and Wales . Under the Government of Wales Act 2006 , the Counsel General is the chief legal adviser to the Welsh Government . Since the prorogation of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1972, the Attorney General for England and Wales was also Attorney General for Northern Ireland. The separate office of Attorney General for Northern Ireland

1040-408: Is such an attorney. Although a government may designate some official as the permanent attorney general, anyone who came to represent the state in the same way could, in the past, be referred to as such, even if only for a particular case. Today, however, in most jurisdictions, the term is largely reserved as a title of the permanently appointed attorney general of the state, sovereign or other member of

1105-675: Is the Indian government 's chief legal advisor, and is its principal Advocate before the Supreme Court of India . They are appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Union Cabinet under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and hold office during the pleasure of the President. The current Attorney General for India is R. Venkataramani . The Mission of the Office of the Attorney General

1170-497: Is the legal adviser to the government of the Republic of Singapore and its public prosecutor . The current Attorney-General is Lucien Wong. The attorney-general of Sri Lanka is the chief legal adviser of the Government of Sri Lanka and head of the attorney-general department which is the public prosecutor . As of 10 October 2019 , the Attorney General of Sudan is Tag el-Sir el-Hibir . The office of Attorney General

1235-532: Is the head of the public prosecution from the state, the person who advises the government in legal matters, the person who represents the state's authorities in the courts, and advises in preparation of law memoranda of the government in general and the Justice Minister in particular (likewise he examines and advises for private proposals for a law of Knesset members). This is a position which existed in Jamaica for

1300-501: Is to provide the highest standard of professional legal services to Government, Departments and Offices. The Attorney General of Ireland is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The Office of the Attorney General, is made up of a number of different offices: Since the enactment of the Prosecution of Offenses Act 1974 the responsibility for

1365-468: The Cabinet . The Minister of Justice is concerned with questions of policy and their relationship to the justice system. In their role as attorney general, they are the chief law officer of the Crown . A separate cabinet position, the Minister of Public Safety ( Ministre de la Sécurité publique ), formerly the "Solicitor General", administers the law enforcement agencies (police, prisons, and security) of

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1430-400: The attorney general ( pl. : attorneys general ) or attorney-general ( AG or Atty.-Gen ) is the main legal advisor to the government . In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enforcement , prosecutions or even responsibility for legal affairs generally. In practice, the extent to which the attorney general personally provides legal advice to

1495-485: The etymology of the phrase Attorney General , Steven Pinker writes that the earliest citation in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1292: "Tous attorneyz general purrount lever fins et cirrographer" (All general attorneys may levy fines and make legal documents). The phrase was borrowed from Anglo-Norman French when England was ruled by Normans after the conquest of England in the 11th-century. As

1560-650: The s hurta , and the Maréchaussée provided services ranging from law enforcement and personal protection to customs enforcement and waste collection. In England , a complex law enforcement system emerged, where tithings , groups of ten families, were responsible for ensuring good behavior and apprehending criminals; groups of ten tithings ("hundreds") were overseen by a reeve ; hundreds were governed by administrative divisions known as shires ; and shires were overseen by shire-reeves . In feudal Japan , samurai were responsible for enforcing laws. The concept of police as

1625-649: The 1660s in the Province of New York . The Province of Carolina established slave-catcher patrols in the 1700s, and by 1785, the Charleston Guard and Watch was reported to have the duties and organization of a modern police force. The first municipal police department in the United States was the Philadelphia Police Department , while the first American state police , federal law enforcement agency

1690-929: The 1749 establishment of the London Bow Street Runners , the first formal police force in Britain. In 1800, Napoleon reorganized French law enforcement to form the Paris Police Prefecture ; the British government passed the Glasgow Police Act , establishing the City of Glasgow Police ; and the Thames River Police was formed in England to combat theft on the River Thames . In September 1829, Robert Peel merged

1755-623: The 19th century, improvements in technology, greater global connections, and changes in the sociopolitical order led to the establishment of police forces worldwide. National, regional, and municipal civilian law enforcement agencies exist in practically all countries; to promote their international cooperation, the International Criminal Police Organization , also known as Interpol, was formed in September 1923. Technology has made an immense impact on law enforcement, leading to

1820-701: The American Legacy Foundation, subsequently renamed the Truth Initiative , an anti-smoking advocacy group, and in the early 2000s the foundation gave approximately $ 10 million of the settlement funds it managed to UCSF to formalize the collection it already hosted into the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and to expand their efforts. In 2002, NAAG gave the UCSF Library a large number of document index records and images to further develop

1885-833: The Bow Street Runners and the Thames River Police to form the Metropolitan Police . The title of the "first modern police force" has still been claimed by the modern successors to these organizations. Following European colonization of the Americas , the first law enforcement agencies in the Thirteen Colonies were the New York Sheriff's Office and the Albany County Sheriff's Department , both formed in

1950-722: The DEA focuses on narcotics crimes, while the ATF focuses on weapon regulation violations. Various segments of society may have their own specialist law enforcement agency , such as the military having military police , schools having school police or campus police , or airports having airport police . Private police may exist in some jurisdictions, often to provide dedicated law enforcement for privately-owned property or infrastructure, such as railroad police for private railways or hospital police for privately-owned hospital campuses. Depending on various factors, such as whether an agency

2015-654: The Library. Documents are continually added to the MSA collections through the use of spidering (also known as " web crawling ") applications that identify and download index records and document images directly from the tobacco companies' websites. The Library collects and maintains the internal documents of the tobacco companies and their trade organizations that were a party to the Master Settlement Agreement as well as documents from other litigation or companies not party to

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2080-745: The New Zealand government. The Attorney-General is the Minister responsible for the Crown Law Office, the Parliamentary Counsel Office, and the Serious Fraud Office. Historically, the post could be held either by a politician or by a senior jurist, but today, it is invariably held by a member of Parliament . The Attorney-General attends Cabinet , but the post is not the same as the Minister of Justice . By tradition, persons appointed to

2145-629: The Parliament. This institution originates from the time of the British rule, and was preserved even after the independence of Cyprus in 1960 due to the Anglo-Saxon law which continues to exist in Cyprus, as in other Commonwealth states. In Fiji , the role of the attorney general is defined as "providing essential legal expertise and support to the Government". More specific functions include "legislative drafting", "legal aid", "the prerogative of mercy" (advising

2210-517: The President), "liquor licensing" and "film censorship". The current Attorney General is Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum . In January 2008, he sparked controversy by accepting other government positions in addition to his role as attorney general. Sayed-Khaiyum is currently responsible also for "Public Enterprise, Electoral Reform and Anti-Corruption". An article in the Fiji Times pointed out that "never before in

2275-470: The State shall be taken— (a) in the case of civil proceedings, in the name of the attorney general; (b) in the case of criminal proceedings, in the name of the State. The attorney general for England and Wales is similarly the chief law officer of the Crown in England and Wales, and advises and represents the Crown and government departments in court. In practice, the Treasury Solicitor (who also has

2340-481: The attorney general in the performance of his duties as principal legal adviser to the government are: The Hon. Justice (Rtd) Paul Kihara Kariuki is the current Attorney-General of Kenya as of April 2018. In Kiribati , the attorney general is defined by section 42 of the Constitution as "the principal legal adviser to the Government". The Constitution specifies: "No person shall be qualified to hold or to act in

2405-534: The civilization and often changed over time, but they were typically enslaved people , soldiers , officers of a judge , or hired by settlements and households. Aside from their duties to enforce laws, many ancient law enforcers also served as slave catchers , firefighters , watchmen , city guards , and bodyguards . By the post-classical period and the Middle Ages , forces such as the Santa Hermandades ,

2470-575: The development and regular use of police cars , police radio systems, police aviation , police tactical units , and police body cameras . Most law enforcement is conducted by some law enforcement agency , typically a police force. Civilians generally staff police agencies, which are typically not a military branch . However, some militaries do have branches that enforce laws among the civilian populace, often called gendarmerie , security forces , or internal troops . Social investment in enforcement through such organizations can be massive in terms of

2535-513: The federal government. For the attorneys-general of the various provinces of Canada see: The Attorney General of the Republic is an independent official of the Republic of Cyprus , head of the Legal Service of the state.[1] He is the legal advisor of the Government of Cyprus.[1] Hierarchically, it is the 3rd highest institution of the state, after the President of the Republic and the President of

2600-427: The federal minister with respect to state law. Functions of the state and federal attorneys-general include the administration of the selection of persons for nomination to judicial posts, and authorizing prosecutions. In normal circumstances, the prosecutorial powers of the attorney-general are exercised by the Director of Public Prosecutions and staff; however, the attorney-general maintains formal control, including

2665-540: The government varies between jurisdictions, and even between individual office-holders within the same jurisdiction, often depending on the level and nature of the office-holder's prior legal experience. Where the attorney general has ministerial responsibility for legal affairs in general (as is the case, for example, with the United States Attorney General or the Attorney-General for Australia , and

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2730-493: The health hazards of smoking. These companies were convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act). Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds filed an appeal but Judge Kessler's ruling was upheld. As a result of this case and its appeals, the companies are now obliged to make available any documents produced for litigation on smoking and health until 2021. The MSA provisions also created and funded

2795-619: The history of this nation has the Attorney-General held a portfolio dealing with matters other than the law and the judiciary", and criticised the decision. The Secretary for Justice, known as the attorney-general before the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, is the legal adviser to the Hong Kong Government and heads the Department of Justice . They are assisted by five law officers, namely: (The Administration and Development Division

2860-682: The office of Attorney-General unless he is qualified to practise in Kiribati as an advocate in the High Court." The current Attorney General, as of 2016, was the Honourable Tetiro Semilota, until her nomination as Acting Chief Justice in October 2022. In Malaysia the attorney-general or Peguam Negara (as he is referred to in Bahasa Melayu ) is the principal legal adviser to the Government. He

2925-480: The office was abolished and its functions taken over by the Secretary of Justice. Since then, the Solicitor General of the Philippines, previously the second law officer, has been the principal law officer and legal defender of the Philippine Government . The Office of the Solicitor General is the law firm of the Republic of the Philippines. It is tasked with representing the Philippines, the Philippine Government, and all its officials in any litigation or matter requiring

2990-473: The outstanding lawsuits by requiring yearly payments by the tobacco companies to the states and placing restrictions on the advertising and marketing of tobacco products. As part of the Master Settlement Agreement, the U.S. tobacco companies were ordered to release the internal documents produced for the case for public access in both a physical depository in Minnesota and on their own document websites. The international tobacco company, British American Tobacco ,

3055-409: The position of Attorney-General have been lawyers. Only two former attorneys-general have not been lawyers, most recently Dr Michael Cullen who held the post in 2005, and again from 2006. The Attorney-General of Pakistan is the legal adviser to the government of the Pakistan and its public prosecutor . The Attorney General of the Philippines was an office that existed from 1901 until 1932, when

3120-459: The power to initiate and terminate public prosecutions and take over private prosecutions. Statutory criminal law provides that prosecutions for certain offences require the individual consent of the attorney-general. This is generally for offences whose illegality is of a somewhat controversial nature or where there is perceived to be a significant risk that prosecutions of a political nature may be embarked upon. The Attorney-General also generally has

3185-429: The power to issue certificates legally conclusive of certain facts (e.g., that the revelation of certain matters in court proceedings might constitute a risk to national security); the facts stated in such certificates must be accepted by the courts and cannot legally be disputed by any parties. The Attorney-General also has the power to issue a nolle prosequi with respect to a case, which authoritatively determines that

3250-497: The primary law enforcement organization originated in Europe in the early modern period ; the first statutory police force was the High Constables of Edinburgh in 1611, while the first organized police force was the Paris lieutenant général de police in 1667. Until the 18th century, law enforcement in England was mostly the responsibility of private citizens and thief-takers , albeit also including constables and watchmen. This system gradually shifted to government control following

3315-439: The prosecution of indictable criminal offences is mostly in the hands of the Director of Public Prosecutions who is by law independent of the attorney general and the State. The current attorney general is Rossa Fanning , SC . In the Isle of Man , the Attorney General is a Crown appointment (appointed by the UK government) and sits in the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man , ' ex officio '. The Attorney General of Israel

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3380-638: The resources invested in the activity and the number of people professionally engaged to perform those functions. Law enforcement agencies are limited to operating within a specified jurisdiction . These are typically organized into three basic levels: national, regional, and municipal. However, depending on certain factors, there may be more or less levels, or they may be merged: in the United States, there are federal , state , and local police and sheriff agencies; in Canada, some territories may only have national-level law enforcement, while some provinces have national, provincial, and municipal; in Japan , there

3445-408: The respective attorneys general of the states in each country), the ministerial portfolio is largely equivalent to that of a Minister of Justice in some other countries. The term was originally used to refer to any person who holds a general power of attorney to represent a principal in all matters. In the common law tradition, anyone who represents the state, especially in criminal prosecutions,

3510-491: The royal family. Civil law jurisdictions have similar offices, which may be variously called "public prosecutor general", "procurators", " advocates general ", "public attorneys", and other titles. Many of these offices also use "attorney general" or "attorney-general" as the English translation of the title, although because of different historical provenance, the nature of such offices is usually different from that of attorneys-general in common law jurisdictions. In regard to

3575-585: The rules and norms governing that society. The term encompasses police, courts and corrections. These three components of the criminal justice system may operate independently of each other or collectively through the use of record sharing and cooperation. Throughout the world, law enforcement are also associated with protecting the public, life, property, and keeping the peace in society. The concept of law enforcement dates back to ancient times, and forms of law enforcement and police have existed in various forms across many human societies. Modern state legal codes use

3640-439: The services of a lawyer especially before appellate courts. It is an independent and autonomous office attached to the Department of Justice for budgetary purposes. In Samoa , the attorney general is the legal adviser to the government. Since 2016, the current attorney general is Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff (whose father Misa Telefoni Retzlaff also served as attorney general from 1986 to 1988) The Attorney-General of Singapore

3705-473: The settlement. Among the documents are more than 8,000 tobacco industry video and audio tapes including recordings of focus groups, internal corporate meetings, depositions of tobacco industry employees, government hearings, corporate communications, and commercials. Many of the acquired tapes are available for viewing or listening on the Internet Archive at the UCSF Tobacco Industry Videos Collection. Attorney general In most common law jurisdictions,

3770-400: The state (in whose name prosecutions are brought) does not wish to prosecute the case, so preventing any person from doing so. For the attorneys-general of the various states and territories of Australia see: The Attorney General of Canada ( French : Procureur général du Canada ) is a separate title held by the Canadian Minister of Justice ( Ministre de la Justice ), a member of

3835-418: The term law enforcement officer or peace officer to include every person vested by the legislating state with police power or authority; traditionally, anyone sworn or badged who can arrest any person for a violation of criminal law is included under the umbrella term of law enforcement. Although law enforcement may be most concerned with the prevention and punishment of crimes, organizations exist to discourage

3900-431: The title of Procurator General) normally provides the lawyers or briefs Treasury Counsel to appear in court, although the attorney general may appear in person. The person appointed to this role provides legal advice to the Government, acts as the representative of the public interest and resolves issues between government departments. The attorney general has supervisory powers over the prosecution of criminal offences, but

3965-408: The tobacco industry had done and helped drive the turning of public sentiment and litigation against the tobacco companies. In 1998, a Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) was signed by the attorneys general of 46 states and the nation's five major tobacco companies: Philip Morris , R. J. Reynolds , Lorillard , Brown & Williamson , and the American Tobacco Company . The MSA effectively settled

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4030-442: Was established in Tonga in 1988, and was held jointly with the portfolio of Justice Minister until the two were separated in 2009. The Attorney General is defined as the "Chief Legal Advisor to Government". According to the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, the supreme law of the nation, The Attorney General shall be responsible for the administration of legal affairs in Trinidad and Tobago and legal proceedings for and against

4095-422: Was not ordered to provide a document website but they were required to deposit documents into a depository in Guildford , England . The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) provides oversight and enforcement of this operation. In 2006, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled in a separate case that the nation's top tobacco companies violated racketeering laws, misleading the public for years about

4160-430: Was re-created alongside the new office of Advocate General for Northern Ireland upon the devolution of policing and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2010. Law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate

4225-411: Was the United States Marshals Service , both formed in 1789. In the American frontier , law enforcement was the responsibility of county sheriffs , rangers , constables , and marshals . The first law enforcement agency in Canada was the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary , established in 1729, while the first Canadian national law enforcement agency was the Dominion Police , established in 1868. By

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