Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 06, 2016 News
– says Executive consulting with itself
Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall, after consulting with Government about the Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2015 and the Law Reform Commission Bill of 2015, has put forward a number of proposals for the bills.
This does not come, however, without Nandlall making several disapproving statements about aspects of the Bills. One instance was the Law Reform Commission Bill, which had put the authority to appoint in the hands of the President, provided he consulted with the Attorney General.
“By this mechanism,” Nandlall said yesterday. “The Executive is consulting with itself. This is simply absurd.”
“In the Bill, it is the Executive, without any extrinsic input, that determines who will be appointed to the Commission,” he went on to state. “We recommend that a formula be used whereby the names of the persons who are to sit on the Commission come from important stakeholders in our society.”
Nandlall noted that the Law Reform Commission Bill should expressly state that the Law Reform Commission is an independent body. He made it clear that as an independent body, the appointment process as well as the composition of this body should reflect this independence.
“We recommend that a formula be used whereby the names of the persons who are to sit on the Commission come from important stakeholders in our society.”
Meanwhile on the Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2015, it was recommended that the Bill be sent to a Special Parliamentary Select Committee, where the Principal Act should be subjected to a “holistic review” in accordance with the recommendations of the Disciplined Forces Commission.
“The Bill in its current form does not address the real mischief in the Principal Act. The real mischief can only be addressed in a comprehensive review of the Bill,” the former Attorney General stated. “The definition of Coroner ought to be reviewed in the Principal Act.”
“In the Act, a Coroner is a magistrate or a Justice of Peace. More specifically, consideration should be given as to whether a Justice of Peace can competently perform the functions of a Coroner.”
“One of the main problems with the Principal Act is that, because of its language, it induces an abdication of responsibility on the part of the Coroner in the different magisterial districts,” Nandlall pointed out. “This must be rectified to ensure that magistrates are mandated to conduct inquests in the areas in which they exercise jurisdiction.”
“In this regard, special considerations must be given to the Georgetown Magisterial District which has several magistrates exercising jurisdiction over the same geographic area. In the end, the Bill must make it clear to each magistrate that they have a duty to carry out their responsibilities under the Principal Act.”
He was also adamant that the qualifications of Coroners must be fixed by the Bill, not left to be determined “at the discretion of any commission or authority”. Nandlall stated that at a minimum, a Coroner should have a university degree, preferably, in Law.
“There should be persons performing the functions of the Coroner on a full-time basis in each magisterial district,” he also recommended. “There should be established in each magisterial district, either a Coroner’s office or a Coroner’s department attached to each magistrate’s court office to administer the business of the Coroner.”
“One of the major problems with the current system is that there is no administrative structure in place which regulates, separately, the business of the Coroner,” Nandlall posited. “The business of the coroner should be administratively delinked from the ordinary business of the magistrate’s court. This will augment greater efficiency and accountability.”
Nandlall also advocated for suitable time frames to be prescribed for the conclusion of inquests or inquiries from the time they are commenced. He also stated that the Coroner should fall under the supervision of the Chief Magistrate and not the Chief Justice, as the Bill prescribes.
“Investigators who are independent of the Police should be assigned to the Coroner’s office or department to assist in the investigations of unnatural deaths, and to generally assist the Coroner in the discharge of his functions.”
The Private Sector Commission (PSC) has also raised issues with both bills, stating that the Coroners Bill should be reviewed.
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