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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Proposed Special Prosecutor Bill Flawed , Says Opposition PNP ( Gleaner )...</span>
MEMBERS OF the parliamentary Opposition have warned of grave pitfalls in the special prosecutor bill.The lawmakers made impassioned pleas to their colleagues yesterday to take a careful look at the proposed law before giving it the nod.In her contribution to the debate, Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller said the bill failed to insulate the special prosecutor from the political directorate.She said the Opposition felt that the appointment of a special prosecutor should be similar to the manner in which the director of public prosecutions is appointed.Refusing to relent on the method of appointment and removal of the special prosecutor, Simpson Miller said the process should not be touched by "the political hand of the legislature"."The tenure of the special prosecutor should not in any way at all be subjected to the whim and fancy of the political directorate," she stressed.Turning to the state of the justice system, Simpson Miller questioned the administration's commitment to justice reform, arguing that the Office of the Special Prosecutor would be faced with bureaucratic hurdles as the courts were overburdened with a huge backlog of cases. No urgencyShe said the Government has failed to move with urgency to implement the recommendations of the justice reform task force which were submitted in 2007.Simpson Miller also questioned whether the Government would establish a special court to handle cases from the special prosecutor's office.Ronald Thwaites, member of parliament for Central Kingston, said while he supported the intent of the proposed law, the recommended statute had gone too far."There is a difference between surgery and bludgeoning," Thwaites said of provisions in the bill."This is supposed to purify the Constitution, not overtake it," he quipped.He said the law would strip parliamentarians and other public figures of their privacy, now that the Office of the Special Prosecutor would have access to the bank accounts of parliamentarians.Opposition MP Robert Pickersgill urged parliamentarians to comb through the bill carefully as he believed it contained provisions that are impractical. The special prosecutor will be empowered under the provisions of the law to investigate and prosecute corrupt public officials.
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Proposed Special Prosecutor Bill Flawed , Says Opposition PNP ( Gleaner )...</span>
MEMBERS OF the parliamentary Opposition have warned of grave pitfalls in the special prosecutor bill.The lawmakers made impassioned pleas to their colleagues yesterday to take a careful look at the proposed law before giving it the nod.In her contribution to the debate, Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller said the bill failed to insulate the special prosecutor from the political directorate.She said the Opposition felt that the appointment of a special prosecutor should be similar to the manner in which the director of public prosecutions is appointed.Refusing to relent on the method of appointment and removal of the special prosecutor, Simpson Miller said the process should not be touched by "the political hand of the legislature"."The tenure of the special prosecutor should not in any way at all be subjected to the whim and fancy of the political directorate," she stressed.Turning to the state of the justice system, Simpson Miller questioned the administration's commitment to justice reform, arguing that the Office of the Special Prosecutor would be faced with bureaucratic hurdles as the courts were overburdened with a huge backlog of cases. No urgencyShe said the Government has failed to move with urgency to implement the recommendations of the justice reform task force which were submitted in 2007.Simpson Miller also questioned whether the Government would establish a special court to handle cases from the special prosecutor's office.Ronald Thwaites, member of parliament for Central Kingston, said while he supported the intent of the proposed law, the recommended statute had gone too far."There is a difference between surgery and bludgeoning," Thwaites said of provisions in the bill."This is supposed to purify the Constitution, not overtake it," he quipped.He said the law would strip parliamentarians and other public figures of their privacy, now that the Office of the Special Prosecutor would have access to the bank accounts of parliamentarians.Opposition MP Robert Pickersgill urged parliamentarians to comb through the bill carefully as he believed it contained provisions that are impractical. The special prosecutor will be empowered under the provisions of the law to investigate and prosecute corrupt public officials.