Politics
Jamaica moves closer to becoming a republic – looking to abolish appeals to Privy Council
Delivering the Throne Speech, Sir Patrick indicated said that the agency would have “strong powers” but noted that there would be explicit provisions to prevent abuse of its authority.
The Contractor General Greg Christie has consistently agitated for a merger of the Corruption Prevention Commission, the Integrity Commission and the Office of the Contractor General under a single umbrella, with prosecutorial powers to effectively tackle the scourge of corruption plaguing the country.
In a recent Gleaner interview Transport, Works and Housing Minister Dr. Omar Davies said it was dangerous to have a single anti-corruption agency as proposed by Christie.
The introducing of a statute to amend the Evidence Act to allow video-recorded evidence in court, as well as DNA evidence will also be passed this year.
The proposed amendment to the Evidence Act also seeks to secure evidence from remote locations by way of a live link.
It is believed that this approach to securing evidence would serve to protect vulnerable witnesses and facilitate witnesses who are overseas.
Sir Patrick said the proposed law would eliminate various outdated evidential requirements, which slowed down and increase the costs of criminal trials.
