Title 5, Government Operations

For the period following the certification of the election and the swearing-in of the Attorney General- elect, the incumbent Attorney General, should he or she not be the successful candidate in that election, shall assist the Attorney General-elect in the preparation of his or h…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General shall have cognizance of all legal matters, excluding the Legislative and Judicial Branches of the government of Guam, involving the Executive Branch of the government of Guam, its agencies, instrumentalities, publi…

The Attorney General shall have, in addition to the powers expressly conferred upon him by this Chapter, those common law powers which include, but are not limited to, the right to bring suit to challenge laws which he believes to be unconstitutional and to bring action on behalf…

The Attorney General shall have cognizance of all matters pertaining to public prosecution, including the prosecution of any public officials. SOURCE: GC § 7003. Repealed and reenacted by P.L. 13-117 (Dec. 27, 1975). 2012 NOTE: Pursuant to P.L. 24-288:7 (Oct. 16, 1998), this sect…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, attorneys serving as prosecutors shall be entitled to special pay, calculated at the rate of their regular wage plus fifteen percent (15%). The Office of the Attorney General shall provide special pay to all attorneys serving as prosecu…

There shall be such divisions of the Department of Law as the Attorney General shall determine; provided, however, that the Consumer Counsel shall be an identifiable entity within the Office of the Attorney General. SOURCE: GC § 7004 repealed and reenacted by P.L. 13-117 (Dec. 27…

(a) The Attorney General shall appoint an attorney as Deputy Attorney General to head each division which has been established by virtue of § 30105 of this Chapter. (b) The Attorney General may appoint an attorney as Chief Deputy Attorney General, who shall be the officer referre…

The Attorney General shall give, when requested or required, and without fee, except as provided in § 30102, his opinion in writing to public officers, and written instructions to commissioners or others acting COL 2025-04-22 for the courts of Guam on all matters relating to serv…

(a) Whenever any action for damages is instituted against any officer or employee of the government of Guam in his individual capacity for the performance of an authorized official act, the officer or employee may request the Attorney General to undertake the defense of such acti…

The Attorney General is the public prosecutor and, by himself, a deputy or assistant, shall: (a) conduct on behalf of the government of Guam the prosecution of all offenses against the laws of Guam which are prosecuted in any of the courts of Guam, the District Court of Guam, and…

The Attorney General shall bring civil actions to abate public nuisances in Guam. SOURCE: GC § 7009 repealed and reenacted by P.L. 13-117 (Dec. 27, 1975).

The Attorney General, except for his own services, may not present any claim, account or demand for allowance against the government of Guam nor in any way advocate the relief asked on any claim or demand made by another except as provided in the Government Claims Act (5 GCA Chap…

The Attorney General, during his incumbency, shall not defend or assist in the defense of, or act as counsel in a criminal action for any person or persons, association or corporation indicted of any crime in Guam. SOURCE: GC § 7011 repealed and reenacted by P.L. 13-117 (Dec. 27,…

Neither the Attorney General nor any person employed in the Department of Law shall engage in any outside employment which shall conflict with his duties within the Department of Law. Attorneys employed as classified or unclassified attorneys in the Department of Law, or any atto…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General shall make rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law, for the conduct of the Department of Law, but such rules and regulations shall become effective only upon approval of I Liheslaturan Guåhan. Rules and reg…

(a) The Department of Law is authorized to pursue litigation before the Federal Maritime Commission, and in any court of competent jurisdiction, to challenge the reasonableness of shipping rates established by the ocean carriers in the Guam trade. This authorization shall continu…

The annual salary of the Attorney General shall be: (a) Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000) higher than the annual salary of the highest compensated Assistant Attorney General under the Attorney Pay Plan of the Office of the Attorney General of Guam, based on years of experience pursua…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General of Guam shall be the legal counsel for the Mayors’ Council of Guam. In the event that a conflict of interest exists or workload problems exist, the Attorney General shall, from time to time, appoint an attorney from…

The Office of the Attorney General shall receive an annual budget pursuant to appropriation by I Liheslaturan Guåhan, which is not subject to the allotment process or the control of the Bureau of Budget and Management Research, nor shall I Maga’hågan/Maga’låhen Guåhan impound or …

(a) The Office of the Attorney General shall be responsible for the conduct of operational matters addressing its financial activities, in accordance with and consistent with the provisions contained herein. (b) The Department of Administration shall establish, for the benefit of…

Every request for a letter from the Office of the Attorney General to provide a statement about the disposition of a person’s criminal arrest or criminal case, also known as an “AG Clearance”, shall pay to the Treasurer of Guam a non-refundable fee equal to the same fee charged b…

There is hereby established a fund to be known as the “Victim/Witness Travel-Housing Fund”, which shall be maintained separate and apart from other funds of the government of Guam, and not subject to any transfer authority of I Maga’hågan/Maga’låhen Guåhan. This Fund shall be use…

The Office of the Attorney General shall be responsible for the conduct of operational matters addressing its personnel activities, in accordance with and consistent with the provisions contained herein. SOURCE: Added by P.L. 31-153:5 (Nov. 21, 2011).

The Attorney General of Guam is authorized to hire and appoint such personnel, and to fix their duties and responsibilities under and in accordance with Title 4, Guam Code Annotated, as may be necessary for the purposes of this Chapter. SOURCE: Added by P.L. 31-153:5 (Nov. 21, 20…

(a) Pursuant to the provisions of § 4105 of Title 4, Guam Code Annotated, the Attorney General may establish rules and regulations governing selection, promotion, performance evaluation, demotion, suspension and other disciplinary action for the employees of the Office of the Att…

(a) I Liheslaturan Guåhan finds that the operations of the Attorney General’s Office are fiscally supported by the revenues of the General Fund and the various special funds of the government of Guam. As such, the Attorney General is expected to provide legal services to those ag…

The Office of the Attorney General is authorized to bill and recover from agencies, autonomous and semi-autonomous instrumentalities and public corporations of the government of Guam its legal services and related costs (1) for the review of contracts where public law and/or fede…

The Office of the Attorney General is authorized to bill agencies for the actual costs related to the legal services rendered under the provisions of § 30202 of this Article. Such legal services and costs include, but are not limited to, work conducted by the staff of the Office …

An agency or autonomous or semi-autonomous instrumentality or public corporation of the government of Guam billed pursuant to this Article by the Attorney General shall make payments within sixty (60) days after receipt of the invoice. The Attorney General and each agency or auto…

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, there shall be established a fund called “The Office of the Attorney General Special Fund” (the Fund). The Fund shall be maintained separate and apart from other funds of the government of Guam by the Department of Administration. All fund…

The Legislature declares that the public health, welfare and interest require a strong and effective consumer protection program to protect the interest of both the consumer public and legitimate businessman. The Legislature further declares that the government advances the inter…

The [Consumer Counsel within the Department of Law] shall have the following functions, powers and duties: (a) To coordinate the consumer protection activities of the departments, agencies, divisions, commissions and branches of the government of Guam concerned with consumer prot…

(a) The [Attorney General] shall have responsibility for appearing on behalf of the government of Guam in all those cases brought in the name of the government of Guam to enforce consumer protection laws. COL120106 (b) [Repealed.] SOURCE: GC § 53634 added by P.L. 12-36. Subsectio…

The [Attorney General] may, in the course of his investigations, issue subpoenas to any individual or to any director, officer, employee, or agent of any business organization within the territory, conduct hearings in aid of any investigation or inquiry, and may prescribe such fo…

Each department, agency, officer and employee of the territory shall cooperate with and assist the [Attorney General] in the performance of the functions, powers and duties of the [Consumer Counsel]. SOURCE: GC § 53638 added by P.L. 12-36.

Nothing contained in this Chapter shall be deemed to delegate or detract in any way from the functions, powers and duties prescribed by law for any other department or agency of the territory. SOURCE: GC § 53639 added by P.L. 12-36. COL120106 ---------- COL120106

This chapter shall be liberally construed so that its beneficial purposes may be accomplished.

This chapter may be cited as the “Deceptive Trade Practices - Consumer Protection Act”.

As used in this chapter: (a) Business consumer means an individual, partnership or corporation who seeks or acquires by purchase or lease, any goods or services for commercial or business use. The term does not include the government of Guam. (b) Consumer goods means tangible goo…

(a) Any waiver by a consumer of the provisions of this chapter, any warranty, or the provisions of any statute imposing a duty or obligation upon another, is contrary to public policy and is unenforceable and void; provided, however, that a waiver not related to a warranty or pro…

(a) The provisions of this chapter are not exclusive. The remedies specified in this chapter for violation of any section of this chapter or for conduct proscribed by any section of this chapter shall be in addition to any other procedures or remedies for any violation or wrongfu…

There shall be no right of jury trial in any civil action brought pursuant to this chapter, except to the extent mandated by the Organic Act of Guam and the Constitution of the United States.

On a finding by the court that an action under this chapter was groundless and brought in bad faith, or brought for the purpose of harassment, the court shall award to the innocent party reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees and court costs.

(a) Liberal construction. This chapter shall be liberally construed in favor of the consumer and shall be applied to promote its underlying purposes, which are to protect consumers against false, misleading, and deceptive business practices, unconscionable actions, and breaches o…

The Attorney General and each consumer who prevails in an action brought under this chapter shall be awarded court costs and reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees.

(a) As a prerequisite to filing a suit seeking damages under this chapter against any person by a consumer not represented by the Attorney General, a consumer shall give written notice to the person at least thirty (30) days before filing the suit advising the person, in reasonab…