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Gov't moved quickly to establish Special Prosecutor, but.
Friday, September 18, 2009
The establishment of a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute persons involved in corruption was one of the more impressive promises outlined by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in its manifesto for the 2007 general elections.
The proposed office was one of a raft of policy initiatives the JLP said it would pursue as part of its commitment to creating a new framework for good governance if it was elected to office.
Twelve weeks after winning the elections, the new Government announced that it had approved the policy and explained that the Special Prosecutor's Office would subsume the current Corruption Prevention Commission, and would focus on high-level corruption. It would, however, not be involved in the seizure of assets.
But in October 2008, the meeting of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament on the bill proposing the Special Prosecutor's Office ended in deadlock between Government and Opposition members.
Opposition members KD Knight and AJ Nicholson suggested that the committee resolve the issue of the relationship between the Special Prosecutor and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before proceeding.
But committee chair Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, the attorney general and minister of justice, said that there was no need to stall discussions on the other issues as the matter would be resolved in the meantime.
However, both sides were unable to reach a compromise on the issue.
Senator Nicholson warned of "an unholy mix-up", if one prosecuting arm of the State was answerable to the legislature and the other remains a part of the executive arm.
The situation, he said, was not helped by including in the bill that section 94 of the constitution - which deals with the DPP - is sacrosanct.
"I am just signalling from now that we are not likely to agree to the bill as structured and, certainly, as far as the functions of the special prosecutor, vis-à-vis prosecuting and answering to Parliament, are concerned," Nicholson said.
Senator Knight agreed, suggesting that "rather than go on to other issues now, let us see if we can grapple with this first. Because, if we can't get over this, the other issues really are almost irrelevant".
Erica Boswell-Munroe, senior parliamentary counsel in the office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, suggested that even though the DPP - because of reasons of transparency - was the premier prosecutor, historically, prosecution had never been the exclusive purview of the DPP.
"So I do envisage that other bodies could prosecute, subject of course to the DPP's ultimate power to discontinue, and so on," she said.
However, Senator Nicholson insisted that Jamaica's constitutional arrangements did not allow for an institution answerable to the legislature having anything to do with prosecuting.
He instead suggested a deputy DPP with the special training and the necessary facilities to deal specifically with corruption.
Lightbourne said that the issue would have to be discussed, but that in the interest of the urgent need to conclude the review of the bill, the committee would continue with its agenda.
"The fact is that the DPP's office was inundated and these prosecutions just weren't going forward, hence the cry for a special prosecutor. But we will discuss it, because it is something that we will have to resolve," she said.
The committee hasn't met since then.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...UTOR__BUT_.asp
Friday, September 18, 2009
The establishment of a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute persons involved in corruption was one of the more impressive promises outlined by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in its manifesto for the 2007 general elections.
The proposed office was one of a raft of policy initiatives the JLP said it would pursue as part of its commitment to creating a new framework for good governance if it was elected to office.
Twelve weeks after winning the elections, the new Government announced that it had approved the policy and explained that the Special Prosecutor's Office would subsume the current Corruption Prevention Commission, and would focus on high-level corruption. It would, however, not be involved in the seizure of assets.
But in October 2008, the meeting of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament on the bill proposing the Special Prosecutor's Office ended in deadlock between Government and Opposition members.
Opposition members KD Knight and AJ Nicholson suggested that the committee resolve the issue of the relationship between the Special Prosecutor and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before proceeding.
But committee chair Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, the attorney general and minister of justice, said that there was no need to stall discussions on the other issues as the matter would be resolved in the meantime.
However, both sides were unable to reach a compromise on the issue.
Senator Nicholson warned of "an unholy mix-up", if one prosecuting arm of the State was answerable to the legislature and the other remains a part of the executive arm.
The situation, he said, was not helped by including in the bill that section 94 of the constitution - which deals with the DPP - is sacrosanct.
"I am just signalling from now that we are not likely to agree to the bill as structured and, certainly, as far as the functions of the special prosecutor, vis-à-vis prosecuting and answering to Parliament, are concerned," Nicholson said.
Senator Knight agreed, suggesting that "rather than go on to other issues now, let us see if we can grapple with this first. Because, if we can't get over this, the other issues really are almost irrelevant".
Erica Boswell-Munroe, senior parliamentary counsel in the office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, suggested that even though the DPP - because of reasons of transparency - was the premier prosecutor, historically, prosecution had never been the exclusive purview of the DPP.
"So I do envisage that other bodies could prosecute, subject of course to the DPP's ultimate power to discontinue, and so on," she said.
However, Senator Nicholson insisted that Jamaica's constitutional arrangements did not allow for an institution answerable to the legislature having anything to do with prosecuting.
He instead suggested a deputy DPP with the special training and the necessary facilities to deal specifically with corruption.
Lightbourne said that the issue would have to be discussed, but that in the interest of the urgent need to conclude the review of the bill, the committee would continue with its agenda.
"The fact is that the DPP's office was inundated and these prosecutions just weren't going forward, hence the cry for a special prosecutor. But we will discuss it, because it is something that we will have to resolve," she said.
The committee hasn't met since then.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...UTOR__BUT_.asp
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