Ministry of Attorney-General (Arab Union)

The Ministry of Attorney-General (Arabic: وزارة النائب العام wuzārat an-nā’ib al-‘ām) is a ministry of the federal government of the Arab Union. It is responsible for public prosecution at the federal level, and also oversees federal law enforcement and corrections.

The Ministry of Attorney-General is chaired by the Attorney-General of the Arab Union, who is the third-most senior member of the Prime Minister's Cabinet, after the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister.

The Ministry of Attorney-General consists of the Attorney-General, the Deputy Attorney-General, paralegal and clerical support staff, and 20–30 deputy federal prosecutors. All prosecutions by the Ministry of Attorney-General take place either in Supreme Court of the Arab Union trials (where the most serious cases are tried), in Supreme Court-authorised federal tribunals typically held outside the capital (where the remaining majority of federal cases are tried), or in the Arab Union Court of Appeals. The first category of trials always have either the Attorney-General or Deputy Attorney-General as federal prosecutor, while the federal tribunals and federal Court of Appeals typically retain a deputy federal prosecutor although the Deputy Attorney-General or (rarely) the Attorney-General have on occasion acted directly as prosecution at federal tribunals.

The republican equivalent of the Attorney-General of the Arab Union is called the Solicitor-General of the _______ Arab Republic, who leads the Ministry of Justice of the respective republic/territory. As the great majority of criminal proceedings are handled by republican courts, many Ministries of Justice are significantly larger than the federal government's Ministry of Attorney-General.

Dr. Bassel Barghouti has served as Attorney-General of the Arab Union since September 2016. The Ministry of Attorney-General has its headquarters on Tishreen Square in Garden City, Ibrahimia, directly across the square from the Supreme Court of the Arab Union and the Metropolitan Police headquarters. The Attorney-General, however, also has a separate official workplace and residence located adjacent to the National Armoury and National Museum.

Agencies reporting directly to Attorney-General

 * Federal Prosecution Authority: The prosecution service of the Arab Union federal government, and the Attorney-General's primary base of operations—represents the federal government in all federal criminal as well as civil legal proceedings; officially reports directly to the Attorney-General but chaired unofficially by the Deputy Attorney-General, who is responsible for acting as public prosecutor in all major cases not handled by the Attorney-General personally, while all other cases of federal jurisdiction are the responsibility of a deputy federal prosecutor;
 * Arab Union Sheriff Service: The primary federal law enforcement agency, responsible primarily for federal law enforcement operations and investigations, patrolling federal highways and property, leading national manhunts and apprehending suspects of federal crimes, as well as providing regular policing services to unorganised territories of the Arab Union; also provides security for federal judicial system and security details to senior federal government officials, including the Attorney-General and Federal Prosecution Authority, and assists federal prosecution with investigations, transports terrorists, other violent federal offenders and high-risk or high-value prisoners, detainees and witnesses, and runs the federal witness protection program as well as the premier anti-corruption department in the country;
 * All-Union Police Commission: Responsible for accreditation of all civilian law enforcement agencies at all levels of government and related programs such as police academies, as well as developing and enforcing standards of professional conduct across the law enforcement sector, licensing of commissioned police officers and other civilian law enforcement and security personnel, directing the establishment of new law enforcement agencies, planning and directing construction of police stations, jails, laboratories and other law enforcement-related facilities, and other mainly supervisory and regulatory responsibilities;

Other agencies
The following agencies each answer to the Deputy Attorney-General via their respective director/chairperson, although ultimately answer to the Attorney-General who has the power to bypass or dismiss the Deputy Attorney-General:


 * Federal Directorate of Corrections: Administers all federal jails and prisons, and transports federal prisoners and detainees while under federal incarceration; also provides courtroom security and all bailiff services to federal courts/tribunals;
 * Federal Directorate of Parole and Probation: Administers the parole program for federal convicts post-release, and a probationary federal "diversion" program meant to be an alternative to incarceration;
 * National Narcotics Directorate: The federal government's premier law enforcement agency responsible for disrupting all aspects of the illegal drug trade within and across all parts of the country;
 * Financial Crimes Investigation Service: Investigates alleged white-collar crimes such as money laundering, fraud, insider trading, embezzlement, etc.; also acts as the law enforcement arm of the State Revenue Committee, assisting the committee by arresting and charging individuals accused of tax evasion or other tax crimes;

Other departments

 * Bureau of Deputy Attorney-General: Responsible for all assistance and liaison, paralegal, clerical, and other assignments as directed by the Deputy Attorney-General;
 * Paralegal Department: Responsible for legal document composition and proofreading, prosecution paperwork or disclaimers, and many other tasks in support of and supervised by deputy federal prosecutors;
 * Bureau of Police Deputies: Unlike the prosecution authority, this bureau is staffed by defence attorneys and paralegals responsible for legally representing the Ministry of Attorney-General, and also federal police and security agencies as well as republican/territorial agencies in federal hearings;
 * Budget Department of Attorney-General: Chaired by the Attorney-General's Chief Accountant, who supervises the Ministry's expenses, coordinates funding and resources, compiles annual fiscal reviews for Attorney-General, drafts and submits annual budget proposals to Congressional Budget Committee and Ministry of Finance, and administers Ministry payroll and program funding;
 * Personnel Department of Attorney-General: Responsible for human resources, including hiring, interviewing and supporting lawyers, paralegals and other legal professionals as well as civil servants staffing the Ministry, recording and investigating personnel complaints and other issues, mediating between personnel and their superior(s), and making personnel recommendations to the Attorney-General;