Prosecution of Offences (Transitory Provisions) Regulations, 2020

L.N. 378 of 2020

ATTORNEY GENERAL ORDINANCE

(CAP. 90)

STATE ADVOCATE ACT

(CAP. 603)

Prosecution of Offences (Transitory Provisions) Regulations, 2020

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 3(c) of the

Attorney General Ordinance and of article 1 of the State Advocate Act

the Minister for Justice, Equality and Governance has made the

following regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Prosecution of

commencement.

Offences (Transitory Provisions) Regulations, 2020.

(2)

These regulations shall come into force on the 1st October

2020.

Powers of the Attorney General to prosecute

1. The Attorney General shall have the power to decide

whether a prosecution is or is not to be instituted in the following

categories of offences when the charges are to be filed in the Court of

Magistrates as a court of criminal judicature or in the Court of

Magistrates as a Court of criminal inquiry on or after the 1 st October

(a) Genocide, Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes

under Title I of Part II of Book First of the Criminal Code;

(b) Crimes Against the Safety of the Government under

Title I Bis of Part II of Book First of the Criminal Code;

(c) Acts of terrorism, Funding of Terrorism and Ancillary

Offences under Sub-Title IVA of Title IX of Part II of Book First

of the Criminal Code;

(d) Wilful Homicide under Sub-Title I of Title VIII of

Part II of Book First of the Criminal Code;

(e) Unlawful Exaction, Extortion, Bribery, Embracery

and Corruption, Trading in Influence, and Accounting Offences

under Sub-title IV of Title III of Part II of Book First of the

Criminal Code;

(f) Crimes of money laundering under article 3 of the

Prevention of Money Laundering Act except where such crimes

are prosecuted together with crimes against the Dangerous Drugs

Ordinance or the Medical and Kindred Professions Ordinance;

(g) Cases of fraud and misappropriation where the

financial loss caused is of at least fifty thousand euro (€50, 000);

(h) Cases of evasion of customs, excise or other import

duty where the duty evaded amounts to at least five hundred

thousand euro (€500, 000);

(i) Attempts or conspiracy to commit or complicity in

the offences mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f),

(g) or (h).

Powers not to prejudice the exercise of other powers granted by

2. Nothing in this Schedule shall be interpreted

(a) as excluding the Commissioner of Police or any other

public authority having prosecution powers under any other law

from exercising or from continuing to exercise the said powers

after the coming into force of this Schedule; or

(b)

as giving rise to any defect in the proceedings

(i) in cases where such powers are exercised after

the coming into force of this Schedule or where

proceedings commenced before the coming into force of

this Schedule are continued in the name of the

Commissioner of Police or of any other public authority

having prosecution powers after the said coming into force;

or

(ii) where it results that the amount of financial loss

or evasion of any tax or duty does not reach or exceeds the

minimum threshold established under paragraphs (g) or (h)

of item 1.

(1) The powers and functions of the Attorney General as

provided under article 3 of the Attorney General Ordinance shall

insofar as they refer to the power to institute and conduct prosecutions

before the Court of Magistrates either as a court of criminal judicature

or as a court of criminal inquiry apply in respect of the crimes listed in

the Schedule.

(2) Without prejudice to paragraph (f) of item 1 of the

Schedule, the powers and functions referred to in sub-regulation (1)

shall also apply to any crime charged together with a crime listed in

the Schedule.

(3) The powers and functions referred to in sub-regulation (1)

shall be subject to being delegated in full or in part by the Attorney

General, by general or special direction, to the Commissioner of Police

or to another public authority having prosecution powers. In the

exercise of the said functions in relation to the conduct of prosecutions

the Attorney General may also, in the absence of delegation, obtain the

assistance of the Commissioner of Police or of such other public

authority having prosecution powers.

(4) In prosecutions conducted by the Attorney General before

the Court of Magistrates, the following functions shall be executed by

the Executive Police

(a) the service of charges in terms of articles 358 and 360

of the Criminal Code;

(b) the execution of warrants and orders of arrest or

search in terms of article 359 of the Criminal Code;

(c) the service of subpoenae of witnesses in terms of

article 365 of the Criminal Code and the service of any other acts Cap. 9.

which the prosecution is required to serve on any person;

(d) the execution of judgments and orders in terms of

article 366 of the Criminal Code.

Without prejudice to the provisions of item 2, the Executive

Police shall not on or after the 1 st October 2020 institute or pursue any

prosecution for the crimes listed in item 1 in the absence of a decision

to prosecute having been taken by the Attorney General.

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