t
COPY.
Hon. Colonial Secretary,
G. 0.
12240
ALOR
REGE 6 APR 07,
549
I am unable to discover any authoritative
ruling as to the powers and duties of the Executive Council when enquiring into the conduct of a Public Officer with a view to his suspension. I propose therefore to examine briefly the principles which I conceive should govern the procedure to be
followel,
An enquiry of this sort differs very
materially from any trial before a court of Criminal Jurisdiction.
In the first place the proceedings are not public but are on the contrary of a confidential nature. Then
again the witnesses examined are neither on oath nor on affirma-
-lion.
Perhaps the most striking difference is
found in the departure from the sound legal principle embodied
in the old maxic "no can is to be twice vexed for the same
cause": "nemo debet bis vexari pro una el eadem causa". For
under Colonial Office Rule 8 (a) the Council is given power to
recommend the dismissal of an Officer in respect of a charge of
which he has been acquitted by a Criminal Court.
This must mean either
-
or both
(1).
that the Council ray revise the verdict of a
jury in the sense that on the same evidence it may come to a
different conclusion and in effect has power to recommend for
punishment where a jury had acquitted.
(2). that the Council may in arriving at its decision
take into consideration other matters which not being proved by
legal evidence could not properly have come before a jury on a
criminal charge.
On the whole I think the differences are
SO
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.