Opening Hours:
Mondays to Thursdays – 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Fridays – 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers is not responsible for payments.

Once payment has been approved and monies are to be disbursed, the party seeking compensation will be contacted through his/her representative or directly.

Section 79(1) of the Constitution of Jamaica provides that “there shall be appointed an Attorney-General who shall be the principal legal adviser to the Government”.

As the Principal Law Office of the Crown, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) is responsible for providing legal advice and representation to all Ministries and Departments of Government.

The office of the Solicitor-General (SG) was created in 1939 by the Solicitor General’s Act, which empowers the SG, subject always to the directions of the Attorney-General, to perform any of the duties and exercise any of the powers of the Attorney-General. He/she is a civil servant and the administrative head of the (AGC).

The AGC library serves mainly Legal Officers within central government Ministries and Departments.

The move to centralize the delivery of legal services to the Government of Jamaica is aimed at facilitating:

• Effective workload management;
• Empowerment of Ministry Legal Officers; and
• Timely delivery of legal services.

Currently, only Legal Officers in the AGC Headquarters, acting on behalf of the Attorney General, have authority to treat with certain matters. In particular, only AGC Legal Officers can bind the Government and as a result, all matters involving liability have to be referred to the AGC Headquarters. Legal Officers in Ministries, when they become AGC staff, will be given carriage of several matters now being referred to Headquarters, thereby significantly reducing the turnaround time for processing these matters.

Centralization will create a single integrated organization, structured as follows:

(i) Headquarters which monitors, directs and coordinates legal services to government to ensure consistency in output quality utilizing standardized processes; and

(ii) Ministry Legal Service Units (LSUs) staffed by Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) attorneys.

The posts of Legal Officers in Ministries will be transferred to the establishment of the AGC, however, these Legal Officers will remain located in Ministries to ensure the development of portfolio-specific expertise as well as to facilitate timely execution of duties.

It is intended that some matters which would usually be sent to AGC HQ will be handled at the LSU level.

In relation to the preparation of Cabinet Submissions and the requirement for comments from the AGC, these comments will continue to be provided by the AGC-HQ with guidance sought when necessary, from the Head of the LSU on ‘portfolio specific’ concerns.