Code for Prosecutors says… Work of prosecutors, investigators related

Feb 03, 2019 News

---

 

On many occasions in the Magistrates’ Courts, Police Prosecutors would indicate that they could not disclose the status of a case file because of it being sent to investigators for completion. In some instances, a Magistrate would ask of the prosecutor to clarify the facts of a case.
This request sometimes leaves prosecutors dumbfounded. They would then turn to the investigating ranks for help. Sometimes, the investigating ranks would be of no help since they, themselves, are not familiar with the facts. Occasionally, this is the situation with some of the other investigators working on the
Though the functions of the prosecutor, police and other investigators are separate and distinct, and more so independent, they need to work in partnership to enforce the law.
This notion is outlined in the Code for Prosecutors, which was launched last November by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack.
The Code for Prosecutors is a booklet containing a set of rules that encapsulates how prosecutors, including police prosecutors, make decisions. It outlines the general principles to be adopted such as whether criminal charges should be instituted and what charges should be preferred.
Also and where criminal proceedings have been instituted and whether they should be discontinued.
According to the Code for Prosecutors, “The police and other investigators are responsible for conducting enquires into alleged crimes and for deciding how to deploy their resources.
This includes decisions to start or continue an investigation and the scope of the investigation. Prosecutor often advises the police and other investigators about possible lines of inquiry and evidential requirements and assist with pre-charge procedures.”
On the other hand, the prosecutor decides if a prosecution should be pursued and, if so, on what terms. In more serious or complex cases, prosecutors decide whether a person should be charged with a criminal offence and, if so, what the offence should be.
According to the booklet, in large-scale investigations, the prosecutor may be asked to advise on the overall investigation strategy, including decisions to refine or narrow the scope of the criminal conduct and the number of suspects under investigation.
The booklet goes on the say that this is to assist the police and other investigators to complete the investigations within a reasonable period of time and to build the most effective prosecution case.
But before making such decisions, prosecutors need to follow guidelines of the Threshold and Full Code tests, which are outlined in the Code for Prosecutors. The latter has two stages, the evidential and public interest stages.

Nevertheless, it is outlined in the Code for Prosecutors that prosecutors review every case they receive from police and other investigators and that reviewing is a continuous process and prosecutors must take into account any change in circumstances that occurs as the case develops, including what becomes know of the defence case.
“Wherever possible, they (the prosecutors) should talk to the investigator when thinking about changing the charges or stopping the case. Prosecutors and investigators work closely together, but the final responsibility for the decision whether or not a case should go ahead rests with the DPP.”
Furthermore, the Code for Prosecutors states that the prosecutor may also advise the investigator on the conduct of cases which includes, what criminal charges are warranted, whether there is sufficient evidence to support a charge, the admissibility (or otherwise) of evidence, the present state of the law, whether a case should be tried summarily or on indictment and the disclosure of evidence.
“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,” the DPP had stated at the launching of the Code for Prosecutors.
It is noted in the Code for Prosecutors that prosecutors should not start or continue a prosecution, which would be regarded by the courts as oppressive or unfair, and possibly an abuse of the court’s process.
The Code for Prosecutors was drafted in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (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.

---

---