The Attorney General Office is a cabinet-level position in the Brazilian government charged with advising the Executive Branch and representing the federal government of Brazil in legal proceedings legally known as the Union (União). It is the institution responsible for the legal representation, supervision and control of the Union and the Government of Federative Republic of Brazil, as well as for the protection of public assets against third parties or Government members. The Attorney General is defined under the Article 131 of the Brazilian Constitution as one of the essential functions of Brazilian judicial administration, along with the roles performed by the judicial branch, the Prosecutor's office, the public defenders and private lawyers. It practices, along with the Attorney General's Office of the National Treasury, the Federal Attorney General's Office and the Attorney General's Office of the Central Bank, public law at the federal level, which gives it the representation of all the powers of the Union in the judicial or extrajudicial sphere. The current Attorney General is Jorge Messias.