The Solicitor-General of Belize is a law officer of the government of Belize, subordinate to the Attorney-General of Belize. The office is defined briefly by the Constitution of Belize, which mentions it as one of the ex officio members of the Public Services Commission. [1] In 1999, after Gian Ghandi was removed from the SG position, the role's responsibilities were revised; in particular, court administrative and financial functions were transferred to the Permanent Secretary of the Attorney-General's Ministry, while law drafting became the responsibility of the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, then Elson Kaseke. [2] From 2008 to 2009 the office of Solicitor-General was vacant, leading to criticism of PM Dean Barrow. [3]
The United States attorney general (AG) leads the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief lawyer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.
A solicitor general or solicitor-general, in common law countries, is usually a legal officer who is the chief representative of a regional or national government in courtroom proceedings. In systems that have an attorney-general, the solicitor general is often the second-ranked law officer of the state and a deputy of the attorney-general. The extent to which a solicitor general actually provides legal advice to or represents the government in court varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and sometimes between individual office holders in the same jurisdiction.
The Football Federation of Belize (FFB), formerly known as the Belize National Football Association (BNFA) and founded in 1980, is the governing body of football in Belize. It is a member of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), CONCACAF, and Union Centroamericana de Fútbol (UNCAF).
The Norman Manley Law School is a law school in Jamaica.
The Chief Justice of Belize is the head of the Supreme Court of Belize. Under Chapter 7 of the Constitution of Belize, the Chief Justice is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Sir George Noel Brown was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Belize from 1991 to 1998, the second native-born Belizean to sit in that position.
Samuel Lungole Awich is a Commonwealth jurist, whose career has taken him from his native Uganda to Botswana, the Solomon Islands, and for the past decade Belize.
The Attorney-General of Belize is a cabinet-level official who acts as the principal legal adviser to the government of Belize.
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the head prosecutor of Belize, whose role is to prosecute criminal offences..
Lutchman Sooknandan is a Guyanese-Belizean lawyer. He previously served as Belize's Director of Public Prosecutions, practices law privately at Sooknandan's Law Firm, and serves as Guyana's honorary consul in Belize.
Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Taitt Vidal is a Trinidadian lawyer, who serves as Belize's Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) is a law school in Trinidad and Tobago.
Cheryl Krusen is a Caribbean lawyer. A dual national of Jamaica and Belize, she has served in legal positions in various countries for three decades.
Oscar D. Ramjeet is a Guyanese journalist and lawyer. He has served in a variety of positions throughout the Caribbean, including as Belize's Solicitor-General from 2009 to 2011.
Elson Kaseke (1967–2011) was a Zimbabwean lawyer. A long-time resident of Belize, he served that country in a variety of capacities including as a legal draftsman and as Solicitor-General before becoming an attorney in private practice there.
Chester Williams is the Commissioner of Belize and highest police officer of the Belize Police Department. His rapid rise through the ranks of the police was interrupted by fellow officers' allegations that he had committed a murder. The government of Belize pursued a dubious disciplinary action against him despite the objections of the Solicitor-General, and he was reduced in rank for six months. Williams was eventually reinstated, but the accusations continued to dog his career until it was revealed that the man he had allegedly murdered was actually alive and well in the United States, a fact that had been known to his superiors for some time. Thus vindicated, Williams took up a new post as Officer Commanding the Cayo District Police, but the following month announced that he would be taking study leave in order to attend law school.
Gian Chand Ghandi was a Belizean lawyer. He served as Belize's Solicitor-General for thirteen years before moving to the Ministry of Economic Development.
Fouad "Alfred" Schakron was a Belizean businessman and the ex-husband of People's United Party political hopeful Yolanda Schakron. He was murdered in broad daylight outside a Belize City gym, leaving police mystified as to the motive or the identity of the killers.
Rodwell Roosevelt Adlai Williams is a Belizean lawyer. He is a name partner, along with Prime Minister of Belize and United Democratic Party leader Dean Barrow, in the Belize City law firm Barrow & Williams.
Michel Hannah Chebat, Jr. is a Belizean lawyer. He has previously served as Chairman of Belize's Social Security Board as well as President of the Bar Association of Belize. He is a partner in the law firm of Shoman and Chebat together with Lisa Shoman.