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{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=
{{Infobox Political post
|post = Attorney General
|body =
|nativename =
|department = Attorney General's Chambers
|image = File:Dawn_Smith,_BVI_Attorney_General.png
|alt =
|incumbent =
|incumbentsince = 1 October 2020
|style = The Honourable
|residence =
|nominator =
|nominatorpost = Judicial and Legal Services Commission
|appointer =
|appointerpost = Governor
|termlength =
|inaugural = Lionel W. Barker
Line 24:
|deputy =
|salary =
|website = https://bvi.gov.vg/departments/attorney-general-chambers
}}
{{Politics of the British Virgin Islands}}▼
The '''Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands''' is the principal legal adviser to the Government of the [[British Virgin Islands]].<ref>Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007, section 58(2)</ref> Under the [[Constitution of the British Virgin Islands]] the Attorney General sits ''ex officio'' in both the [[House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands]]<ref>Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007, section 63(1)</ref> and in the [[Cabinet of the British Virgin Islands]],<ref>Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007, section 47(1)</ref> but is not permitted to vote in either. The Attorney General also sits on the Committee for the Prerogative of Mercy<ref>Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007, section 44(1)</ref> and on the National Security Council.<ref>Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007, section 57(1)(d)</ref>▼
▲The '''Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands''' is the principal legal adviser to the [[Government of the
The office traces its origins back to the reintroduction of democracy in the British Virgin Islands pursuant to the [[British Virgin Islands general election, 1950|1950 general election]]. At that time the Legislative Council (as the House of Assembly was then known) had to look to the Attorney General of the Leeward Islands for support. This was regarded as unsatisfactory and following the [[British Virgin Islands general election, 1954|1954 general election]] Herman Besson was appointed to the title of Legal Assistant to the Legislative Council. In 1959 the title of the office was changed to Crown Attorney, and subsequent to the introduction of Ministerial Government following the [[British Virgin Islands general election, 1967|1967 general election]] the office was titled Attorney General.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://216.197.123.192/Portals/0/Forms/Election%20Information%20and%20Results%201950-2011.pdf |title=BVI election and information results 1950–2011 |publisher=BVI Deputy Governor's Office |pages=195–199}}</ref>▼
The Attorney General is supported by two senior law officers: the Solicitor General (in relation to civil matters) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (in relation to criminal matters). When appearing in court, by convention the Attorney General sits one row in from the row reserved for [[King's Counsel]].
{{As of|2020|10|01}}, the Attorney General is [[Dawn Smith]].<ref name=Smith>{{cite web|url=https://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?articleId=32044 |title=Dawn Smith Takes Over As Attorney General |publisher=Virgin Islands Platinum News| date=2 October 2020 |accessdate=3 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bvibeacon.com/dawn-smith-named-new-attorney-general/ |title=Dawn Smith named new attorney general |work=[[BVI Beacon]] |date=28 May 2020}}</ref>
== History ==
▲The office traces its origins back to the reintroduction of democracy in the British Virgin Islands pursuant to the [[British Virgin Islands general election, 1950|1950 general election]]. At that time the Legislative Council (as the House of Assembly was then known) had to look to the [[Attorney General of the Leeward Islands]] for support. This was regarded as unsatisfactory and following the [[British Virgin Islands general election, 1954|1954 general election]] Herman Besson was appointed to the title of Legal Assistant to the Legislative Council. In 1959 the title of the office was changed to Crown Attorney, and subsequent to the introduction of Ministerial Government following the [[British Virgin Islands general election, 1967|1967 general election]] the office was titled Attorney General.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://216.197.123.192/Portals/0/Forms/Election%20Information%20and%20Results%201950-2011.pdf |title=BVI election and information results 1950–2011 |publisher=BVI Deputy Governor's Office |pages=195–199 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407063531/http://216.197.123.192/Portals/0/Forms/Election%20Information%20and%20Results%201950-2011.pdf |archivedate=7 April 2014 }}</ref>
==Qualifications==
By law only a [[Belonger status|Belonger]] to the Virgin Islands may be appointed to the office of Attorney General unless, in the opinion of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, there is no such person who is suitably qualified and able and willing to be so appointed.<ref>Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007, article 95(6)</ref> In practice, almost all the Attorneys General appointed since 2007 have been non-Belongers, and only two Attorneys General in the history of the British Virgin Islands was a belonger at the time they were appointed ([[Dancia Penn]], and the current Attorney General, Dawn Smith).<ref>Several Attorneys General settled in the British Virgin Islands and were naturalised after leaving office.</ref>
==List of attorneys general of the British Virgin Islands==
A total of
▲A total of 26 persons have been appointed to the office (including as Crown Attorney or Legal Assistant prior to 1967, and persons who were appointed as acting Attorney General), of whom 20 have been men and six have been women. Three have been [[Queen's Counsel]] (although two were appointed to the rank during office), and the remaining 23 have been from the [[junior barrister|Outer bar]] or [[solicitor]]s during their time as Attorney General.<ref>Two former Attorneys General were subsequently elevated to Queen's Counsel later in their careers: [[Joseph Archibald]], QC and Lewis Hunte, QC.</ref> The longest serving Attorney General to date has been [[Cherno Jallow]], who served just under eight years (including time as acting Attorney General).
{| class="wikitable"
|+ '''Attorneys
! align="center" style="background: #efefef;" width="220"|Office holder
! align="center" style="background: #efefef;" width="220"|Title of office
Line 53 ⟶ 57:
| Herman A. Besson
| align="center" | Legal Assistant
| align="center" |
|-
| Oliver M. Browne
| align="center" | Crown Attorney
| align="center" |
|-
| George A. Redhead
| align="center" | Crown Attorney
| align="center" |
|-
| John A.B. Barwick, [[Queen's Counsel|QC]]
| align="center" | Crown Attorney
| align="center" |
|-
| Leo I. Austin
Line 92 ⟶ 96:
| Nolan Jacobs
| align="center" | Attorney General (acting)
| align="center" |
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Paula F. Beaubrun]]
| align="center" | Attorney General (acting)
| align="center" | 17 July 1972
|-
| align="center" | Attorney General
| align="center" | 1 July 1973
|-
| Clare I. Roberts
Line 111 ⟶ 115:
| Michael J. Bradley
| align="center" | Attorney General (acting)
| align="center" |
|-
| Velma I. Hamilton-Gayle
| align="center" | Attorney General (acting)
| align="center" | 28 November 1978
|-
| Sandra M.H. DeSilva
| align="center" | Attorney General
| align="center" |
|-
| Lewis Hunte
| align="center" | Attorney General
| align="center" |
|-
| Karl S. Atterbury
| align="center" | Attorney General
| align="center" |
|-
| Donald A.B. Trotman
| align="center" | Attorney General
| align="center" |
|-
| [[Dancia Penn]], [[Queen's Counsel|QC]], [[OBE]]
Line 143 ⟶ 147:
| rowspan=2 | [[Cherno Jallow]], [[Queen's Counsel|QC]]
| align="center" | Attorney General (acting)
| align="center" | 1 November 1999
|-
| align="center" | Attorney General
Line 150 ⟶ 154:
| [[Kathleen Ayensu]]
| align="center" | Attorney General
| align="center" | 24 June 2007
|-
| Baba Aziz
| align="center" | Attorney General (acting)
| align="center" | 24 June 2010
|-
| Dr Christopher Malcom<ref>{{
| align="center" | Attorney General
| align="center" | 7 November 2011
|-
| Baba Aziz<ref name=Aziz>{{cite news|url=http://bvinews.com/new/baba-aziz-appointed-attorney-general/|title=Baba Aziz appointed attorney general|work=BVI News|accessdate=15 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119013642/http://bvinews.com/new/baba-aziz-appointed-attorney-general/|archive-date=19 January 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| align="center" | Attorney General
| align="center" | 1 January 2015 – 30 September 2020
|-
| [[Dawn Smith]]<ref name=Smith />
| align="center" | Attorney General
| align="center" | 1 October 2020 – Present
|-
| colspan=3 | Mr Arden Warner also acted as Attorney General (acting) on various occasions for short terms.
|}
==See also==
* [[Justice ministry]]
==Footnotes==
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{{Caribbean in topic|Attorney General of}}
{{
{{Attorneys General of British overseas territories}}
[[Category:Law of the British Virgin Islands
[[Category:
[[Category:Attorneys general of the British Virgin Islands| ]]
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