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Witness Protection, Protected Disclosure Bills laid in Parliament
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams on Friday last, laid two crucial Bills in the National Assembly: The Protected Disclosures Bill and the Witness Protection Bill.
Williams explained that the Protected Disclosures Bill 2017, sometimes referred to as the ‘Whistleblowers Bill’, marks another step by the Government towards full compliance with the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (1996).
He said that the Bill would assist in combating corruption and other wrongdoings both in the public and private sectors by encouraging and facilitating the making of specified disclosures of improper conduct in good faith and in the public interest.
The Legal Affairs Minister explained that the Bill seeks to protect persons making those disclosures from detrimental action and to establish the Protected Disclosures Commission to receive, investigate or otherwise deal with disclosures of improper conduct and for other connected matters.
Turning his attention to the Witness Protection Bill, Williams said that it seeks to introduce legislation for the establishment of a Programme for the protection of certain witnesses and other persons.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams
He explained that it provides for the establishment of the Witness Protection Programme and three agencies: an Administrative Centre, an Investigative Agency and a Protective Agency to administer the Programme.
The Legal Affairs Minister said that it lays out the functions of the three agencies and their interdependence on each other for the effective and proper administration of the Programme. Williams said that it requires the disclosure of certain information to the Administrative Centre by the prospective participant, the prospective participant’s application to be in the prescribed form, that the participant understands the implications of being included in the Programme and that he understands and signs the Memorandum of Understanding. In relation to criminal matters, the Director of Public Prosecution, where satisfied that the circumstances so warrant, shall prepare and submit the application in the prescribed form.
Williams also stated that the Bill provides for the protection of the participant and in instances where the participant has been provided with a new identity he must obtain written approval from the Administrative Centre before he discloses his former identity.
Further, protection and assistance under the Programme may be terminated by the participant or the Centre and where the Centre considers it appropriate it may restore the participant’s former identity.
The Bill also provides that the participant has 28 days after receiving notification from the Centre, in regard to either the termination of protection or assistance or both or where there is a decision to restore the participant’s former identity, to apply to the President for a review of the decision and the President shall allow him a reasonable opportunity to state his case.
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