- Office of the Attorney General of Colombia
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Not to be confused with Inspector General of Colombia.
Office of the Attorney General Fiscalía General de la Nación Agency overview Formed July 6, 1991 Headquarters Diagonal 22B 52-01
(Ciudad Salitre),
Bogotá, D.C., ColombiaAnnual budget COP$1,437,526,644,588
(est. 2010)[1]Agency executives Viviane Morales Hoyos, Attorney General
Juan Carlos Forero Ramírez, Deputy Attorney GeneralChild agency National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences Website fiscalia.gov.co The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia (Spanish: Fiscalía General de la Nación) is the Colombian institution part of the Colombian judicial branch of Government with administrative autonomy designed to prosecute offenders, investigate crimes, review judicial processes and accuse penal law infractions against judges and courts of justice[2]. The Office of the Attorney General was created by the Colombian Constitution of 1991 and began operating on July 1, 1992. The current Attorney General is Viviane Morales Hoyos.
An investigative process is initiated either by the institutions' own initiative or after a denouncer has made authorities aware of the case in a police station or in a Quick Reaction Unit of the Attorney General's Office.
Contents
The Attorney General
Functions
Requirements for office
Election process
The Attorney General is elected by Colombian Supreme Court out of a ternary presented by the President for a period of four years. To cast the final vote, the Supreme Court of Justice must meet a quorum of 16 out of the possible 23 votes, i.e. two thirds of the votes.
List of Attorneys General
Order Name Years in Office 1st Gustavo de Greiff Restrepo April 1, 1992 – August 17, 1994 2nd Alfonso Valdivieso Sarmiento August 18, 1994 – May 8, 1997 3rd Alfonso Gómez Méndez July 3, 1997 – July 3, 2001 4th Luis Camilo Osorio Isaza August 1, 2001 – July 31, 2005 5th Mario Germán Iguarán Arana August 1, 2005 – July 31, 2009 6th Guillermo Mendoza Diago (interim) August 1, 2009 – Janury 12, 2011 7th Viviane Morales Hoyos January 12, 2011 – present Deputy Attorney General
The Deputy Attorney General (Vicefiscal General) is the second-in-command to the Attorney General and is appointed by the Attorney General to represent him before the different entities of the State and society, and replaces him in his absence. The Deputy Attorney General assists in formulating policies regarding the entity and ensures their compliance. He coordinates international technical assistance programs and presents update reports to the Attorney General.[3] The current Deputy Attorney General is Juan Carlos Forero Ramírez, who was appointed by Viviane Morales Hoyos in January 2011.
In 2009, after the enf of Attorney General Iguarán's term, the Deputy Attorney General, Guillermo Mendoza Diago, took over interimly as Attorney General until January 2011 because the Supreme Court struggled to select Iguarán's successor.
Controversies
Former Attorney General Luis Camilo Osorio, whose four year term ran from 2001 to 2005, was criticized by Human Rights Watch. They accused him of undermining investigations into human rights violations by retiring or forcing the resignation of several investigators[4].
References
- ^ Ley de Presupuesto General de la Nación 2010, Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, 2010, pp. 50–51, http://www.minhacienda.gov.co/portal/page/portal/MinHacienda/haciendapublica/presupuesto/programacion/inicio/Ley2010/TOMO%20II.pdf, retrieved 2010-11-23
- ^ "Identidad Corporativa" (in Spanish). Office of the Attorney General of Colombia. http://www.fiscalia.gov.co/pag/entidad/entidad.html. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- ^ "Despacho del Vicefiscal" (in Spanish). Office of the Attorney General of Colombia. http://www.fiscalia.gov.co/pag/entidad/organig/paginas/vicefis.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
- ^ "Colombia: Attorney General Undermines Human Rights Investigations". Human Rights Watch. 2002-10-07. http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/11/colombia1108.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
Categories:- Judicial branch of Colombia
- Attorneys General of Colombia
- Government agencies established in 1991
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