SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

3.38 p.m.

The Minister for Law and National Development (Mr E. W. Barker): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the Bill seeks to introduce certain amendments to the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Chapter 15) in order to enable the Public Prosecutor to appeal against judgments of the High Court made in the exercise of its original jurisdiction.

As the law now stands, the Public Prosecutor is only empowered to refer points of law to the Court of Criminal Appeal for the Appellate Court's review and, where a person has been acquitted by the High Court, only a declaratory judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeal may be sought which will not have the effect of reversing the order. Furthermore, there can be no appeal by the Public Prosecutor in respect of sentence imposed.

Whereas there are these restrictions on the Public Prosecutor, there are no corresponding restrictions on the accused person who, upon conviction by the High Court, is entitled as of right to take his case on appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal; and in every case where he is dissatisfied with the sort of punishment meted out on him by the Court, lodge an appeal against sentence. In order to correct this imbalance as it were, the changes contemplated by the Bill have been introduced.

In practice, it is not envisaged that there would be many such appeals. Nevertheless, there is a need to allow the Public Prosecutor in any given case, a freer hand than the law now allows, so that he would be in the same position, not less nor more advantageous than counsel for the defence, in regard to exercising a discretion whether to appeal against an order of the High Court or not.

The other two minor amendments in this Bill are being introduced in order to allow the President power to increase the number of Assistant Registrars in the High Court, as and when the need to do so arises.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr Barker].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Enacting Clause -

The Chairman: There is a correction to be made:

In page 1, line 1, after "Be", to insert "it".

This will be done.

Clauses 1 to 12 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.