Paper Committals Bill to be laid soon in National Assembly

Jul 08, 2023 News

---

Kaieteur News – The Attorney General’s Chambers and the Ministry of Legal Affairs have drafted the Criminal Law Procedure (Paper Committals) Bill 2023 with the aim of making the criminal justice system more efficient.

The Bill provides for the abolition of preliminary inquiries and the substitution thereof with paper committals, which involves reviewing the evidence and arguments presented by both the Prosecution and the Defence in written form, rather than conducting an in-person hearing.

Under the new system, the Magistrate will review the written submissions and make a determination based on the available evidence.

The paper committal process saves time and resources by eliminating the need for witness testimony and cross-examination during the preliminary inquiry stage. This will inevitably save judicial time, reduce the backlog of criminal cases and reduce the prison population on remand.

According to the Attorney General’s office, the Bill will bring Guyana on par with jurisdictions across the Caribbean and the Commonwealth that have already abolished the use of Preliminary Inquiry.

Only recently, while in Guyana, judges of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) hailed this measure as one that has worked with great success in the Caribbean and across the Commonwealth in reducing the backlog of cases, reducing time spent on remand, bringing greater speed, and overall improving the efficiency in the criminal justice system.

The Paper Committal system was first introduced into Guyana by the Sexual Offences Act in 2010. It has survived several legal challenges and has worked reasonably well.

The Attorney General Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs in June 2023 invited comments in writing on the draft Criminal Law Procedure (Paper Committals) Bill 2023.

Submissions were solicited from the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Office of the Police Legal Advisor, the Guyana Bar Association, the Berbice Bar Association, and the Law Reform Commission.

Meanwhile, according to the Explanatory Memorandum, the Bill is divided into three Parts and contains twenty-four (24) clauses.

Part I of the Bill provides for the preliminary provisions and contains clauses 1 to 4.

Clause 3 of the Bill provides for the application of the Act to all proceedings in respect of indictable offences, except for proceedings under the Sexual Offences Act.

Clause 4 of the Bill provides for the abolition of preliminary inquiries and the substitution thereof with paper committals.

Part II of the Bill provides for the procedure pertaining to paper committals and contains clauses 5 to 20. Clause 5 of the Bill provides for the conduct of paper committal proceedings in the presence of the accused. Clause 6 of the Bill empowers the magistrate to adjourn proceedings before beginning a paper committal or at any time during the proceedings.

Clause 7 of the Bill sets out the evidence which is admissible in paper committal proceedings. Clause 8 of the Bill provides the evidential requirements that must be met with respect to written statements sought to be admitted as evidence in paper committal proceedings.

Clause 9 of the Bill provides the evidential requirements that must be met with respect to depositions sought to be admitted as evidence in paper committal proceedings. Clause 10 of the Bill provides the evidential requirements that must be met with respect to other statements sought to be admitted as evidence in paper committal proceedings.

Clause 11 of the Bill provides the evidential requirements that must be met with respect to other documents sought to be admitted as evidence in paper committal proceedings. Clause 12 of the Bill requires evidence to be read aloud in paper committal proceedings.

Clause 13 of the Bill provides for a statement, deposition or document admitted in evidence to be proved by the production of a copy thereof. Clause 14 of the Bill empowers a magistrate to issue a summons or warrant directing that a person’s evidence be taken as a deposition or requiring that person to produce a document or other exhibit.

Clause 15 of the Bill provides for a magistrate to commit an accused for trial for an offence if the magistrate is satisfied with the admissibility of the evidence. Clause 16 of the Bill sets out the procedure whereby a magistrate may commit an accused for trial without consideration of the evidence. Clause 17 of the Bill sets out the procedure for the committal or discharge of an accused person on consideration of the evidence. Clause 18 of the Bill requires a magistrate to record the reasons for the committal or discharge of an accused person in writing.

Clause 19 of the Bill empowers the Director of Public Prosecutions to give directions to a magistrate in any case where the magistrate discharges an accused person. Clause 20 of the Bill provides for a person whose statement, deposition, document or exhibit was not tendered in evidence during a paper committal to give evidence at the trial of the accused person. Part III of the Bill provides general and miscellaneous provisions and contains clauses 21 to 24.

Clause 21 of the Bill provides for a consequential amendment to the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act. Clause 22 of the Bill provides that where any provision of any law is in conflict or inconsistent with any provision of the Act, the provision of the Act shall prevail.

Clause 23 of the Bill provides for the Evidence Act and the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act to apply to the Act where necessary with such modifications, adaptations and qualifications that may be needed for the due administration of the Act. Clause 24 of the Bill provides that any pending proceedings shall be disposed of or continued under the law as it stood immediately before the commencement of the Act

The Bill will be soon taken to Cabinet and thence to be laid in the National Assembly.

---

• Attorney General, Criminal, Ministry of Legal Affair, National Assembly, Paper Committals Bill

---