DOCSLIB.ORG

The Administration of Criminal Justice in Malaysia: the Role and Function of Prosecution

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Administration of Criminal Justice in Malaysia: the Role and Function of Prosecution 107TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE PARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS THE ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN MALAYSIA: THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF PROSECUTION Abdul Razak Bin Haji Mohamad Hassan* INTRODUCTION PART I Malaysia as a political entity came into A. Constitutional History being on 16 September 1963, formed by The territories of Malaysia had been part federating the then independent of the British Empire for a long time. After Federation of Malaya with Singapore, the Second World War, there was a brief North Borneo (renamed Sabah) and period of British military administration. Sarawak, the new federation being A civilian government came into being in Malaysia and remaining and independent 1946 in the form of a federation known as country within the Commonwealth. On 9 the Malayan Union consisting of the eleven August 1965, Singapore separated to states of what is now known as West become a fully independent republic within Malaysia. This Federation of Malaya the Commonwealth. So today Malaysia is attained its independence on 31 August a federation of 13 states, namely Johore, 1957. In 1963, the East Malaysian states Kedah, Kelantan, Selangor, Negeri of Sabah and Sarawak joined the Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Federation and was renamed “Malaysia”. Trengganu, Malacca, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak, plus a compliment of two federal B. Parliamentary Democracy and territories namely, Kuala Lumpur and Constitutional Monarchy Labuan. The Federal constitution provides for a Insofar as its legal system is concerned, parliamentary democracy at both federal it was inherited from the British when the and state levels. The members of each state Royal Charter of Justice was introduced in legislature are wholly elected and each Penang on 25 March 1807 under the aegis state has a hereditary ruler (the Sultan) of the East India Company. Appropriately, or Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) in the the Malaysian legal system has not been states of Malacca, Penang, Sabah and plucked out from the sky but it is the Sarawak. The head of state must act in product of our experiences over the almost all matters on the advice of centuries; so does its criminal justice ministers drawn from and responsible to system which goes side by side with the the State Legislative Assembly. development of its legal system. In This pattern is repeated at the federal discussing the subject of The level. Parliament is a bicameral administration of criminal justice, legislature, the lower House (the House of understanding the constitutional history Representatives) being wholly elected. The just cannot be avoided. Inadvertently, the federal head of state, known as the Yang legal system that Malaysia inherited from Di Pertuan Agong, who is appointed from its colonial masters colours the pattern of among the nine Malay Sultans and serves the criminal justice system today. a five-year term, must act on the advice of the Federal Cabinet or a minister acting * Deputy Head of Criminal Investigation under the general authority of the cabinet. Department, Royal Malaysia Police, Sarawak The Prime Minister has to be a member of Contingent, Malaysia. 247 RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 53 the House of Representatives commanding which those who suffered any grievances the confidence of the House. The Upper or those who acted against the country’s House, the Senate, has two senators elected laws, to seek redress or to be punished. The by each Sate Legislative Assembly and a courts for the administration of criminal number of members nominated by the justice are provided for by the constitution Federal Government. and other laws. All laws are passed by Parliament, and The highest in the hierarchy of the there are bodies that see to its enforcement. courts is the Federal Court. It is the final The interpretation of the laws lies mainly court of appeal. The court’s jurisdiction is with the judiciary. The country exercises appellate, supervisory and advisory. This formal social control through the court consist of the Chief Justice and two establishment of a formal criminal justice other judges of the High Court or a greater system which is characterised by the uneven number as decided by the Chief existence of criminal laws, law enforcement Justice. The Court of Appeal has appellate agencies, prosecutors, judges, magistrates, jurisdiction to hear all appeals on question correction officials, prisons and other of law or sentences from subordinate institutions. courts. Three judges will sit in the courts to make decisions on any appeal. The High C. The Administration of Justice Court has jurisdiction to try all offences The federal constitution provides for the with the highest maximum sentence of exercise of power by the Legislature, the death and also has appellate jurisdiction Executive and the Judiciary. The judiciary to hear appeals of cases from subordinate plays an important role in this balance of courts. power. It has the power to hear and The Sessions Court has jurisdiction to determine civil and criminal matters, and try all offences except those with a possible to pronounce on the legality of any sentence of death. Normally one judge will legislative or executive of the federal as sit in the court to hear such cases. well as state constitutions. The Magistrate Court is the lowest rung The fundamental principle in Malaysia in the hierarchy of courts. It consists of is that an accused person is innocent until two categories of magistrates, i.e., First proven guilty by a competent court of law. Class Magistrates and Second Class Thus the criminal justice system in Magistrates. First Class Magistrates are Malaysia provides various safeguards to legally qualified and have jurisdiction to protect accused persons. A duty is imposed try all offences punishable with on the states, particularly the police force, imprisonment of up to ten years or with a to maintain law and order in the interest fine and 12 strokes of whipping. However of the public. Investigation into an offence their sentencing powers are limited to resides with the police, and the duty to impose imprisonment sentences of not decide whether a person ought to be more than 6 years. charged or not lies with the Attorney Lately because of the high backlog of General, who is a public prosecutor. cases in the Sessions Court, the power of the First Class Magistrate Court has been D. Hierarchy of The Courts and increased to hear cases of robbery under Their Jurisdiction section 392 of the Penal Code and The Federal Constitution of Malaysia housebreaking and theft under section 457 specifically provides for the rights of the of the Penal Code, which are punishable individual and to ensure that those rights with imprisonment of not more than 14 are upheld. It also provides an avenue for years. 248 107TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE PARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS Second Class Magistrates are normally to section 376 (I) of the CPC, the Attorney public servants and junior court officials General shall be the public prosecutor and experienced in judicial administration. The shall have control and direction of all sentencing in criminal cases is only limited criminal prosecutions and proceedings to imprisonment of not more than 12 under the Code. months or a fine. The Attorney General is appointed by One interesting point to note is that, the the Yang Di Pertuan Agong on the advice First Class Magistrates also perform duties of the Prime Minister. Among the criteria in Juvenile Courts, to try youthful on his appointment, he must be a person offenders of the ages of 10 to 18 years. The who is qualified to be a judge of the Federal magistrate sits with two advisors hearing Court. Immediately under him is the all offences except those punishable with Solicitor General who also performs the death. The court is being conducted in the same function in the absence of the Magistrate Chambers, to the exclusion of Attorney General. Holding officers under the public. The principle of this court is to the Attorney General’s Chamber are the rehabilitate the youthful offenders, Senior Federal Counsel, Federal Counsel preventing their development as criminals. and Deputy Public Prosecutor. The Attorney General oversees all criminal PART II prosecution in the country and in each state. There are Senior Federal Counsel A. Structure and Roles of and Deputy Public Prosecutors who Prosecution perform this duty on the Attorney General’s The prosecution of criminal cases is the behalf. main domain of the public prosecutor. In The Public Prosecutor may appoint Malaysia, the person responsible for this deputies who shall be under his general is the Attorney General. He holds office by control and direction. The Deputy Public virtue of Article 145 of the Federal Prosecutor may exercise all or any of the Constitution of Malaysia. The powers rights and powers vested in or exerciseable given to the Attorney General is contained by the Public Prosecutor. The power to in clause (3) of Article 145 which reads as institute criminal proceedings by the Public follows: Prosecutor includes the power to bring The Attorney General shall have criminal charges against persons. power, exerciseable at his discretion, The rights to appear before a court to institute, conduct or discontinue proceeding accorded to the Public any proceedings for an offence, other Prosecutor is contained in sections 377 and than proceedings before a Syariah 380 of the CPC. Besides the Public Court, a Native Court or a Court Prosecutor, the following persons are also Martial. authorised to conduct prosecution in court: The law relating to criminal procedure (1) a deputy public prosecutor, in Malaysia is contained in the Criminal (2) an advocate authorised in writing by Procedure Code (F.M.S. Cap. 6) (hereinafter the Public Prosecutor or a deputy mentioned as CPC). The Code lays down public prosecutor, and rules for such matters as the mode of (3) a police officer not below the rank of arrest; search of body, property or premises; Inspector.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Federal Constitution of Malaysia
    LAWS OF MALAYSIA REPRINT FEDERAL CONSTITUTION Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January 2006 PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968 IN COLLABORATION WITH PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BHD 2006 Laws of Malaysia FEDERAL CONSTITUTION First introduced as the Constitution … 31 August 1957 of the Federation of Malaya on Merdeka Day Subsequently introduced as the … … 16 September 1963 Constitution of Malaysia on Malaysia Day PREVIOUS REPRINTS First Reprint … … … … … 1958 Second Reprint … … … … … 1962 Third Reprint … … … … … 1964 Fourth Reprint … … … … … 1968 Fifth Reprint … … … … … 1970 Sixth Reprint … … … … … 1977 Seventh Reprint … … … … … 1978 Eighth Reprint … … … … … 1982 Ninth Reprint … … … … … 1988 Tenth Reprint … … … … … 1992 Eleventh Reprint … … … … … 1994 Twelfth Reprint … … … … … 1997 Thirteenth Reprint … … … … … 2002 Fourteenth Reprint … … … … … 2003 Fifteenth Reprint … … … … … 2006 Federal Constitution CONTENTS PAGE ARRANGEMENT OF ARTICLES 3–15 CONSTITUTION 17–208 LIST OF AMENDMENTS 209–211 LIST OF ARTICLES AMENDED 212–229 4 Laws of Malaysia FEDERAL CONSTITUTION NOTE: The Notes in small print on unnumbered pages are not part of the authoritative text. They are intended to assist the reader by setting out the chronology of the major amendments to the Federal Constitution and for editorial reasons, are set out in the present format. Federal Constitution 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA FEDERAL CONSTITUTION ARRANGEMENT OF ARTICLES PART I THE STATES, RELIGION AND LAW OF THE FEDERATION Article 1. Name, States and territories of the Federation 2. Admission of new territories into the Federation 3. Religion of the Federation 4. Supreme Law of the Federation PART II FUNDAMENTAL LIBERTIES 5. Liberty of the person 6. Slavery and forced labour prohibited 7.
    [Show full text]
  • Hamilton County General Sessions Court - Criminal Division 9/28/2021 Page No: 1 Master Docket by Bondsman Bondsman: a BONDING COMPANY
    Hamilton County General Sessions Court - Criminal Division 9/28/2021 Page No: 1 Master Docket By Bondsman Bondsman: A BONDING COMPANY Docket #: 1768727 Defendant: LEE , KAITLIN M Charge: DRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALE Trial Date: 09/28/2021 1:30 PM Tuesday Court Room: 4 Presiding Judge: SELL, CHRISTINE MAHN Division: 1 Bond Amount: $12,500.00 Docket #: 1846317 Defendant: SMALL II, AARON CLAY Charge: DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE Trial Date: 09/28/2021 8:30 AM Tuesday Court Room: 4 Presiding Judge: SELL, CHRISTINE MAHN Division: 1 Bond Amount: $2,000.00 Docket #: 1847417 Defendant: MIEDANER , MICHAEL R Charge: DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE Trial Date: 09/28/2021 8:30 AM Tuesday Court Room: 3 Presiding Judge: STATOM, LILA Division: 4 Bond Amount: $2,500.00 Docket #: 1847003 Defendant: SCHREINER , ANDREW MARK Charge: DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE Trial Date: 09/29/2021 8:30 AM Wednesday Court Room: 3 Presiding Judge: STATOM, LILA Division: 4 Bond Amount: $1,500.00 Docket #: 1847004 Defendant: SCHREINER , ANDREW MARK Charge: RESISTING ARREST OR OBSTRUCTION OF LEGAL PROCESS Trial Date: 09/29/2021 8:30 AM Wednesday Court Room: 3 Presiding Judge: STATOM, LILA Division: 4 Bond Amount: $1,000.00 Docket #: 1847006 Defendant: SCHREINER , ANDREW MARK Charge: IMPLIED CONSENT LAW - DRIVERS Trial Date: 09/29/2021 8:30 AM Wednesday Court Room: 3 Presiding Judge: STATOM, LILA Division: 4 Bond Amount: $500.00 arGS_Calendar_By_Bondsman Hamilton County General Sessions Court - Criminal Division 9/28/2021 Page No: 2 Master Docket By Bondsman Bondsman: A FREE-MAN
    [Show full text]
  • Criminal-Law-Procedure
    CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE I. Introduction The eight major sources of Tennessee criminal law and procedure are the Tennessee Constitution, Tennessee Code Annotated, Supreme Court Rules, Court of Criminal Appeals Rules, Rules of Evidence, Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rules of Criminal Procedure, and case law. II. Tennessee Constitution The Tennessee Constitution is, of course, the supreme source of legal authority for Tennessee’s entire criminal justice system. Some state constitutions are interpreted entirely in lockstep with the federal constitution’s analogous provisions. However, a state supreme court may interpret its own constitution’s provisions as providing greater rights to its citizens than those granted by the U.S. Constitution. The Tennessee Supreme Court has historically interpreted the Tennessee Constitution as providing greater rights than the U.S. Constitution, but the distinctions between the state and federal constitutions have dwindled in recent years. Whether the same or different from federal law, the Tennessee Constitution includes provisions affecting indictment, the right to a jury trial, search and seizure, due process and double jeopardy, the rights to confrontation and against self- incrimination, ex post facto laws, and bail. The state constitution also sets forth certain victims’ rights. A. Indictment 1. Article I, section 14 of the Tennessee Constitution guarantees that every person be charged by presentment, indictment, or impeachment. Impeachment is the extremely rare circumstance in which the legislature—rather than the grand jury—brings criminal charges against a government official. The criminal defendant’s right to be charged by a grand jury through either indictment or presentment is available for all offenses that are punishable by imprisonment or carry a fine of $50 or more.
    [Show full text]
  • Hamilton County General Sessions Court - Criminal Division 9/23/2021 Page No: 1 Trial Docket
    CJUS8023 Hamilton County General Sessions Court - Criminal Division 9/23/2021 Page No: 1 Trial Docket Thursday Trial Date: 9/23/2021 8:30:00 AM Docket #: 1825414 Defendant: ANDERSON , QUINTON LAMAR Charge: DOMESTIC ASSAULT Presiding Judge: STARNES, GARY Division: 5 Court Room: 4 Arresting Officer: SMITH, BRIAN #996, Complaint #: A 132063 2021 Arrest Date: 5/14/2021 Docket #: 1793448 Defendant: APPLEBERRY , BRANDON JAMAL Charge: AGGRAVATED ASSAULT Presiding Judge: WEBB, GERALD Division: 3 Court Room: 3 Arresting Officer: GOULET, JOSEPH #385, Complaint #: A 62533 2021 Arrest Date: 5/26/2021 Docket #: 1852403 Defendant: ATCHLEY , GEORGE FRANKLIN Charge: CRIMINAL TRESPASSING Presiding Judge: STARNES, GARY Division: 5 Court Room: 4 Arresting Officer: SIMON, LUKE #971, Complaint #: A 100031 2021 Arrest Date: 9/17/2021 Docket #: 1814264 Defendant: AVERY , ROBERT CAMERON Charge: THEFT OF PROPERTY Presiding Judge: WEBB, GERALD Division: 3 Court Room: 3 Arresting Officer: SERRET, ANDREW #845, Complaint #: A 091474 2020 Arrest Date: 9/9/2020 Docket #: 1820785 Defendant: BALDWIN , AUNDREA RENEE Charge: CRIMINAL TRESPASSING Presiding Judge: SELL, CHRISTINE MAHN Division: 1 Court Room: 1 Arresting Officer: FRANTOM, MATTHEW #641, Complaint #: M 115725 2020 Arrest Date: 11/14/2020 Docket #: 1815168 Defendant: BARBER , JUSTIN ASHLEY Charge: OBSTRUCTING HIGHWAY OR OTHER PASSAGEWAY Presiding Judge: STARNES, GARY Division: 5 Court Room: 4 Arresting Officer: LONG, SKYLER #659, Complaint #: A 094778 2020 Arrest Date: 9/18/2020 Docket #: 1812424 Defendant: BARNES
    [Show full text]
  • United States District Court Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville
    UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ) ) v. ) No. 3:16-CR-94 ) Judge Phillips RASHAN JORDAN ) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER Defendant Rashan Jordan pled guilty to failing to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2250(a). The United States Probation Office has prepared and disclosed a Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”) [Doc. 18]. The defendant has filed objections to three of the proposed special conditions of supervised release in paragraphs 93, 100, and 101 of the PSR [Doc. 21]. The Probation Office has responded to the objections and declined to remove the proposed special conditions [Doc. 23]. The government has responded by simply concurring in the Probation Office’s analysis and further noting that the special conditions in question are not mandatory, but rather are conditioned on the discretion of the supervising Probation Officer [Doc. 24]. By way of background, defendant was convicted in the Knox County Criminal Court for attempted aggravated sexual battery for a 1998 offense at the age of 17 and he was thereafter required to register as a sex offender. The defendant has a lengthy criminal history and a history of probation revocations since that time, but he has had no further Case 3:16-cr-00094-TWP-HBG Document 25 Filed 02/15/17 Page 1 of 7 PageID #: <pageID> convictions or arrests for a sex offense. In the instant case, the Knox County General Sessions Court issued warrants for the defendant in September 2015 for sex offender registry violations and community supervision violations.
    [Show full text]
  • OPENING of the LEGAL YEAR 2021 Speech by Attorney-General
    OPENING OF THE LEGAL YEAR 2021 Speech by Attorney-General, Mr Lucien Wong, S.C. 11 January 2021 May it please Your Honours, Chief Justice, Justices of the Court of Appeal, Judges of the Appellate Division, Judges and Judicial Commissioners, Introduction 1. The past year has been an extremely trying one for the country, and no less for my Chambers. It has been a real test of our fortitude, our commitment to defend and advance Singapore’s interests, and our ability to adapt to unforeseen difficulties brought about by the COVID-19 virus. I am very proud of the good work my Chambers has done over the past year, which I will share with you in the course of my speech. I also acknowledge that the past year has shown that we have some room to grow and improve. I will outline the measures we have undertaken as an institution to address issues which we faced and ensure that we meet the highest standards of excellence, fairness and integrity in the years to come. 2. My speech this morning is in three parts. First, I will talk about the critical legal support which we provided to the Government throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Second, I will discuss some initiatives we have embarked on to future-proof the organisation and to deal with the challenges which we faced this past year, including digitalisation and workforce changes. Finally, I will share my reflections about the role we play in the criminal justice system and what I consider to be our grave and solemn duty as prosecutors.
    [Show full text]
  • U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Solicitor General April 30, 2021
    U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Solicitor General Washington, D.C. 20530 April 30, 2021 Honorable Scott S. Harris Clerk Supreme Court of the United States Washington, D.C. 20543 Re: Biden, et al. v. Sierra Club, et al., No. 20-138 Dear Mr. Harris: On February 3, 2021, this Court granted the government’s unopposed motion to hold the above-captioned case in abeyance and to remove the case from the February argument calendar. The purpose of this letter is to advise the Court of recent factual developments in the case— although we do not believe those developments warrant further action by the Court at this time. This case concerns actions taken by the then-Acting Secretary of Defense pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 284 to construct a wall at the southern border of the United States during the prior Administration, using funds transferred between Department of Defense (DoD) appropriations accounts under Sections 8005 and 9002 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2019 (2019 Act), Pub. L. No. 115-245, Div. A, Tit. VIII, 132 Stat. 2999. The questions presented are whether respondents have a valid cause of action to challenge those transfers and, if so, whether the transfers were lawful. Following the change in Administration, however, this Court granted the government’s motion to hold the case in abeyance in light of President Biden’s January 20, 2021, Proclamation directing the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to “pause work on each construction project on the southern border wall, to the extent permitted by law, as soon as possible” and to “pause immediately the obligation of funds related to construction of the southern border wall, to the extent permitted by law.” Proclamation No.
    [Show full text]
  • Head B Attorney-General's Chambers
    19 HEAD B ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S CHAMBERS OVERVIEW Mission Statement Serving Singapore's interests and upholding the rule of law through sound advice, effective representation, fair and independent prosecution and accessible legislation. FY2021 EXPENDITURE ESTIMATES Expenditure Estimates by Object Class BLANK Actual Estimated Revised Estimated Code Object Class FY2019 FY2020 FY2020 FY2021 Change Over FY2020 BLANK TOTAL EXPENDITURE $179,125,101 $204,500,000 $182,800,000 $202,000,000 $19,200,000 10.5% Main Estimates $167,743,431 $198,836,000 $178,078,100 $193,777,000 $15,698,900 8.8% OPERATING EXPENDITURE1 $167,735,631 $198,736,000 $178,028,100 $193,727,000 $15,698,900 8.8% RUNNING COSTS $167,720,467 $198,719,500 $178,008,500 $193,707,300 $15,698,800 8.8% Expenditure on Manpower $128,799,723 $146,778,900 $135,897,200 $144,458,000 $8,560,800 6.3% 1400 Other Statutory Appointments 5,104,217 6,072,000 5,220,000 7,000,000 1,780,000 34.1 1500 Permanent Staff 123,649,014 140,651,900 130,639,200 137,400,000 6,760,800 5.2 1600 Temporary, Daily-Rated & Other Staff 46,492 55,000 38,000 58,000 20,000 52.6 Other Operating Expenditure $35,260,744 $48,280,600 $38,451,300 $45,589,300 $7,138,000 18.6% 2100 Consumption of Products & Services 28,301,295 36,284,600 31,706,700 35,882,700 4,176,000 13.2 2300 Manpower Development 4,330,903 6,871,100 3,467,200 4,953,700 1,486,500 42.9 2400 International & Public Relations, Public 918,016 1,540,900 125,700 1,579,900 1,454,200 n.a.
    [Show full text]
  • Fair Trial Vis-À-Vis Criminal Justice Administration: a Critical Study of Indian Criminal Justice System
    Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution Vol. 2(4), pp. 66-73, April 2010 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/JLCR ISSN 2006 - 9804 © 2010 Academic Journals Full Length Research Paper Fair trial vis-à-vis criminal justice administration: A critical study of Indian criminal justice system Neeraj Tiwari Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, India. E-mail: [email protected]. Accepted 1 March, 2010 Every civilised nation must have one thing common in their criminal justice administration system that is minimum fair trial rights to every accused person irrespective of his or her status. It is settled in common law and also adopted by other countries too that criminal prosecution starts with ‘presumption of innocence’ and the guilt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. This paper proposes to trace different dimensions of fair trial standards under Indian criminal justice system and will also focus on the role of defence counsel in the process of achieving ends of justice, as he is the only person on whom the lonesome accused can repose his trust. Key words: Fair trial, Indian criminal justice system and defence counsel. INTRODUCTION The right to a fair trial is a norm of international human (hereinafter as ICCPR)3 reaffirmed the objects of UDHR rights law and also adopted by many countries in their and provides that procedural law.1 It is designed to protect individuals from the unlawful and arbitrary curtailment or deprivation of “Everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public their basic rights and freedoms, the most prominent of hearing by a competent, independent and which are the right to life and liberty of the person.
    [Show full text]
  • The Common Law Power of State Attorneys- General to Supersede Local Prosecutors*
    1951] NOTES under the antitrust laws "based in whole or in part" on any matter com- plained of in the government proceeding. 17 Every plaintiff who comes within the terms of this provision should be forced to bring suit within a short period-two years, perhaps-after entry of a final judgment or decree in the government action.'8 The effect of such a modification on plaintiffs would vary: where the government suit began during the last two years of a plaintiff's statutory period, his time would be extended; in all other instances, it would be shortened. 19 Where the limitations period is lengthened, two years would provide ample time to bring an action. Where shortened, claim- ants whose actions would otherwise have been preserved for three, four, or five years after the end of the government suit, would be forced to litigate promptly. Plaintiffs thus restricted would have sufficient time to appraise their chances and to prepare their cases, given the advantage of prima facie evidence in the event of a government victory, and what is usually an ex- haustive record. Moreover, with such a record plaintiffs should be better 2 able to utilize the discovery provisions of the Federal Rules. But here, as in other instances, the exact period chosen is not the impor- tant thing. What is important is the pressing need for uniformity. Congress should move to meet it. THE COMMON LAW POWER OF STATE ATTORNEYS- GENERAL TO SUPERSEDE LOCAL PROSECUTORS* ENFORCEMENT of state penal law is traditionally the responsibility of local prosecutors.' But in recent years there has been a demand for more cen- tralized control of state prosecution policy.2 Centralization, it is urged, will 17.
    [Show full text]
  • Reform of the Office of Attorney General
    HOUSE OF LORDS Select Committee on the Constitution 7th Report of Session 2007–08 Reform of the Office of Attorney General Report with Evidence Ordered to be printed 2 April 2008 and published 18 April 2008 Published by the Authority of the House of Lords London : The Stationery Office Limited £price HL Paper 93 Select Committee on the Constitution The Constitution Committee is appointed by the House of Lords in each session with the following terms of reference: To examine the constitutional implications of all public bills coming before the House; and to keep under review the operation of the constitution. Current Membership Viscount Bledisloe Lord Goodlad (Chairman) Lord Lyell of Markyate Lord Morris of Aberavon Lord Norton of Louth Baroness O’Cathain Lord Peston Baroness Quin Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank Lord Rowlands Lord Smith of Clifton Lord Woolf Declaration of Interests A full list of Members’ interests can be found in the Register of Lords’ Interests: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldreg/reg01.htm Publications The reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee are available on the internet at: http://www.parliament.uk/hlconstitution Parliament Live Live coverage of debates and public sessions of the Committee’s meetings are available at www.parliamentlive.tv General Information General Information about the House of Lords and its Committees, including guidance to witnesses, details of current inquiries and forthcoming meetings is on the internet at: http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/parliamentary_committees26.cfm Contact Details All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Select Committee on the Constitution, Committee Office, House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW.
    [Show full text]
  • Name Position Organization Country E-Mail Mr.Allan Dahl Chief of Justice Unit EUPOL- Afghanistan Afghanistan [email protected] General Prosecutor's Office of Mr
    Name Position Organization Country E-mail Mr.Allan Dahl Chief of Justice Unit EUPOL- Afghanistan Afghanistan [email protected] General Prosecutor's Office of Mr. Artan Bajrami Albania [email protected] Albania General Prosecutor's Office of Ms. Ina Rama Albania [email protected] Albania General Prosecutor's Office of Mr. Kalter Serreqi Albania [email protected] Albania General Prosecutor's Office of Mr. Ols Dabo Albania [email protected] Albania Office of Attorney General of Prosecutor Angola ADAO ANTONIO PEDRO Angola LUIS FERREIRA BENZA Office of Attorney General of Prosecutor Angola ZANGA Angola ESPENCA SITA BENTO Office of Attorney General of Prosecutor Angola GARRETH Angola Mr. Carlos Mariano Donoso the President of the Argentine Argentine Association of Argentina [email protected] Castex Association of Prosecutors Prosecutors Mr. Luis Esteban Duacastella Fiscal Coordinador ministerio Publico Fiscal CABA Argentina [email protected] Arbizu Mr.John Cauchi Director goodlands Australia [email protected] Prof.Nicholas Cowdery Adjunct Professor University of Sydney Australia [email protected] Mr.Salvatore Paul Vasta Principal Crown Prosecutor Office of the DPP Queensland Australia [email protected] Mrs. Deborah Vasta Australia Mr.Benjamin Humphris Prosecutor Northern Territory ODPP Australia [email protected] Office of the Director Public Mr. Peter Vincent Burns Australia [email protected] Prosecutions NSW AUS Office of the Director Public Mr. Mark Fernandez Australia [email protected] Prosecutions NSW AUS Mr. Stephen Robson SNR Crown Prosecutor ODPP Northern Territory Australia [email protected] Mr. Michael John Stollery Senior Advocate Office of the DPP (NSW) Australia [email protected] Public Prosecutor's Office for Mrs.
    [Show full text]