Clause 3
(i)
ii)
(iii)
Clause 10
COMMENTS ON DRAFT PREVENTION OF BRIBERY BILL
( follemą discusion's Sur A. Gratten. Bellews / Cartes / Gammara.)
The phrase "without lawful authority or reasonable excuse"
is not appropriate when one is considering the circumstances in which an officer may solicit or accept an advantage. The question of "lawful authority" does not arise in accepting an advantage and a Court would have great difficulty in construing, in the circumstances, what was meant by "reasonable excuse".
There is a danger that bad cases of bribery would get off
lightly on conviction of the offence of accepting an advantage.
If a lesser penalty is provided for in Clause 12, for an
offence under Clause 3, then an additional sub-clause of Clause 4 will be required to cover cases involving a bribery in relation to public servants, since Clause 4,
as it stands, does not apply to public servants.
This Clause is legally objectionable since, although the prosecution would first have to show that the accused had been maintaining a high standard of living, or possessed or had possessed property disproportionate to his official emoluments, the accused could then be convicted if he remained silent, even though there was no evidence of his having committed any offence.
The provision that no prosecution could be instituted under the Clause until the accused had had an opportunity of making representations to the Attorney-General is valueless; this is because no prosecution would in any event be instituted until preliminary enquiries had been made, and it would always be open to the accused to make a statement if he wished to do so.
Clause 14
This Clause departs from a fundamental principle of British
justice/