Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi says that not only will the Whistleblower Protection Bill empower people in private and public sector to expose wrongdoings without sanctions, but the Evidence (Amendment) Bill being debated in the Senate will provide anonymity to those who testify.
However, Al Rawi said the Government needed a special majority for these legislations that will support the Civil Asset Recovery and Management and Unexplained Wealth Bill that was passed in the House of Representatives on Monday.
He told reporters following the commissioning of LED street lights in San Fernando that the Government found itself in a situation where the Opposition has not been embracing.
However, he said they will be brought up for debate and will await the Opposition's position. As the government nears the end of its term, a suite of legislation is being debated in the Parliament, geared towards protecting and avenging abuse of the public’s purse.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said that the whistleblower legislation will be brought up in Parliament in the coming weeks and Al Rawi explained that for some offences that will be targeted under the explain your unexplained wealth bill, a whistleblower may be required.
The Evidence Bill, if passed, will give witnesses anonymity in some circumstances. While accused persons have the right to face their accusers, Al Rawi said that it will be done only through judicial scrutiny. The process is already used with children, who may be victims of rape, whereby they can be put behind a screen or have their voice modulated to avoid being identified while giving evidence.
He said the Bill will apply to serious matters such as murder. According to the Explanatory Note, the Bill seeks to amend the Evidence Act, Chap. 7:02 to provide for the use of different identification procedures, interviews and oral admissions, special measures, the taking of evidence by video link and witness anonymity orders. The Bill would be inconsistent with Sections 4 and 5 of the Constitution and is therefore required to be passed by a special majority of three-fifths of the members of each house.
“Far too often we have crimes that are committed, but nobody is willing to step forward to speak to it out of genuine fear. So providing an environment for that to work with judicial scrutiny is the key to some of this,” Al-Rawi said.
“What we’re talking about is anonymous witness evidence where the court approves this person giving evidence in a very protected way with the face, by video link, blurred, with the voice blurred but with the lawyers for the accused, the jury or the judge knowing the witness.”
While the bills support each other, Al Rawi said the unexplained wealth legislation can apply to existing matters by itself. He said it can be used for offences such as money laundering, murder, rape and trafficking in persons. He said anti-gang legislation will also be added soon.
“This, therefore, allows, where there is a criminal investigation going on and the DPP does not have enough to go criminally, the DPP can decide to go on a civil route by asking the trustee to approach the court. That means cases that have been in the system for a very long time or cases that can’t get up to that criminal bar, you can approach now on the civil side to say ‘listen, we believe that those assets ought to be looked at by the court or treated by court by way of a seizure and forfeiture.”