Directorate of Civil Litigation

The Directorate carries out the functions entrusted with the Attorney General by Article 119 (4) (C) of the Constitution. It represents the Government and certain institutions in courts or another legal proceedings to which Government is a party. It advises the Attorney General on all matters related to litigation.

The Directorate which is headed by a Director is comprised of three Commissioners:

	Director Civil Litigation
	Commissioner for Civil Litigation (Line Ministries)
	Commissioner for Institutions
	Commissioner for Local Government

The Directorate has 5 Principal State Attorneys, 9 Senior State Attorneys, 7 State Attorneys and relevant staff.

Although most of the posts in the Directorate are filled, the promulgation of the 1995 Constitution and the establishment of the Constitutional court has increased, the Directorate’s work load as a chain of the Constitutional cases continue to be filled and the Attorney General is a party to all of them. Since the enactment of the Constitution to date about 30 Constitutional Cases have been filed in the Constitutional Court.

Mandate of the Directorate:

	Receives and handles Statutory Notices of Intention to sue Government and other institutions in which the Government has interest. It issues Notices of Intention to sue on behalf of Government. In 1999 alone, the department handled about 406 Notices.
	Seeks instructions from relevant ministries, departments or other government instructions which are allied to have committed the act of which the intended suit arises.
	Accepts service of pleadings and determines the course of action to take. In 1999, the Department was served with about 210 applications and plaints.
	Handles applications and suits in which Government has an interest. Last year (1999) alone, the Department handled conclusively about 70 cases and applications.
	Negotiates out of court settlements where necessary. In the year ending December 1999, the Department settled amicably about 30 cases.