Guard against malicious, vexatious prosecution

Nov 28, 2018 News

– Prime Minister urges at launching of Prosecutors’ Code

By Feona Morrison

“The job of the prosecutor is not to secure a conviction at all cost, it is to be able to ensure justice. And justice would require the prosecution to be fair to the defence and the accused,” said Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, yesterday.
He was addressing the launch of ‘The Code for Prosecutors’ yesterday, at Pegasus Hotel.
He urged the gathering that comprised predominantly State lawyers, to guard against malicious and vexatious prosecution. He said, “More often and I see that as a politician you could take certain initiative that are vexatious and a waste of either judicial or legislative time.
“The outcome is not to bring justice but to respond to certain pressure… You (feel) the need to prosecute someone because everyone else says the person should be prosecuted. It doesn’t happen that way.”

Members of the Head Table: From left, UN Representative Ms. Mikiko Tanaka, Deputy Commissioner of Police Paul Williams, Chancellor of the Judiciary Yonette Cummings-Edwards, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack

The Prime Minister said that in delivering justice the court cannot accept evidence that is secured by coercion, threat, torture, inducement of any kind, as being credible.
According to Nagamootoo, who is also an Attorney-at-Law, it is known that anytime a prosecutor discovers that the evidence on which he/she may rely on for conviction has been secured by unlawful means they must recommend that the trial be discontinued.
The Prime Minister reiterated that prosecutors should show the highest respect for the Rule of Law. They should always ensure that cases are made out on the basis of the objective test—the strength of evidence.
In giving an overview of the Prosecutors’ Code, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack explained that it is a booklet containing a set of rules that encapsulates how prosecutors, including police prosecutors, make decisions.
She expressed happiness with the launch, pointing out that it is nothing new to prosecutorial bodies, and that some jurisdictions have enacted the legislation. She said that the Prosecution is an integral part of the criminal justice system and it must be done in an effective, impartial and fair manner.
The Prosecutors’ Code, the DPP disclosed, was drafted by an English Attorney-at-Law with assistance from the United Nations Anti- Corruption (UNODC). She added, “This is all a part of us serving the people of this nation and justifying our budgetary allocation.”
The DPP cautioned that a decision of whether to prosecute must not be influenced by a person’s race, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, gender, financial circumstances, or political affiliation, or any other personal factor.
She stressed that great care must always be taken by those who decide on these issues, “recognizing that incorrect decisions to prosecute may undermine the confidence in the criminal justice systems.”
“Accordingly, a decision to prosecute should only be taken after all the evidence and the relevant circumstances have been considered properly. This is done if the investigations are completed timely and legal advice sought before a charge is instituted.”
She explained that the early disclosure of statements to defendants will see them pleading guilty to the offence for which they are charged, or to a lesser offence and to bargain for a sentence. This, she noted, will save the court from conducting trials and will also ease the backlog of cases.
COMPLY
Noting that the Guyana Police Force is the main investigative body, the DPP urged ranks to comply with the Prosecutors’ Code.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Paul Williams, a former Police Prosecutor, said that the Prosecutors’ Code is critical to the performance of the law enforcement agency.
He reminded that GPF is the leading investigative body which works along with other agencies like the Customs Antic Narcotic Unit (CANU), the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), National Insurance Scheme (NIS), and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), to institute charges.
The Senior Police Official urged investigators and prosecutors to work together since every matter whether successful or unsuccessful has a cost on the State.
The Prosecutors’ Code was drafted in collaboration with the United Nations Anti- Corruption (UNODC) and sets out the tests that all prosecutors in Guyana will be expected to apply in determining whether criminal charges should be instituted.
It is based on the Constitution of Guyana, the Legal Practitioners Act, as well as the 1999 Standard of the International Association of Prosecutors.
A similar Code has already been implemented in the Caribbean Islands of Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, St. Lucia and Dominica.
Also present at yesterday’s launching were Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Yonette Cummings-Edwards, Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, Police Legal Advisor Senior Counsel Claudette Singh, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, and members of the diplomatic corps.