A.392 (1) of the Customs Code in a way which the presumption of
conflicted
innocence."
with
Commonwealth Decisions
In the case of
ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF GAMBIA
.
JOBE
[1984] AC 689 (P.C.), the Privy Council had to consider, inter
alia, whether-S.8(5) of the Special Criminal Court Act 1979 of
Gambia
of. the
was
in
violation
a
of
S.20 (2) (a)
Gambian
case
а
Constitution. The defendant was charged with stealing from his
false accounting. The public bank and employer,
concerned a section of the 1979 Act which permitted the freezing
of accounts and the seizure of property subsequent to
complaint alleging offences in respect of public funds. or
property. S.8(5) imposed criminal liability on
a person who
either failed to come forward to prove that property seized from him was acquired lawfully or who failed to satisfy the court
that he lawfully acquired the property seized from him.
In giving judgment Lord Diplock said (at p.702):
a.
an
"Section. 8(5), however, stands on different footing from the four earlier subsections. In the first place it does not in the deal with the pre-trial procedure in prosecution of a person charged with offence of dishonesty affecting public funds or public property. (In dealing with section 8 (5) it is convenient to call such In the a person "the principal suspect.") second place, and more importantly, what it does is to create a separate and brand new criminal offence which can be committed not only by the principal suspect himself but also by any other person whose property has been seized by the police in purported exercise of the power conferred under subsection (3). The offence created attracts the same mandatory sentence of imprisonment, for a maximum of seven and a minimum of five years, as that imposed by section 11 of the Act upon
upon the principal suspect if he is convicted of the offence of
11
on
them
So
i