XN000022-1995-06-07 — Page 30

-

20

Secondly the Director of Public Prosecutions has recently put in place a research and general advice unit, whose duties include reviewing and recommending changes in criminal law and procedure, and Members would have seen some of the products of that in the form of bills that have come before them recently; assisting in the giving of drafting instructions and commenting on criminal legislation; giving criminal advice to all government branches and departments which are not covered by other sections in the Prosecutions Division; and advising the Commissioner of Police in Magistrate's Courts cases.

Thirdly, in 1993, we published a booklet on Prosecution Policy, that was done with a view to furthering public understanding of the principles that are applied when a decision to prosecute is to be made. This explains, for example, the tests to be applied in deciding whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute, and the public interest considerations that may properly lead to a decision not to prosecute;

Fourthly, with regard to our system of briefing-out cases on which some Members have spoken this evening, Members will be aware of several important measures recently taken, in particular, the capping of fees in non-standard cases and the establishment of a Working Party to review the briefing out system, to be chaired by the Director of Public Prosecutions and including representatives of the Bar Association and the Law Society. The Director and I intend that be a thorough going review because we are determined that the briefing out system will be such as to stand up to critical public examination in this Council and elsewhere.

So Mr President, we have a Prosecutions Division, that is hard-working and highly professional, in a process of steady improvement. What of the future?

First, the introduction of a fully integrated information technology system, now being installed, will greatly enhance our ability to capture information in the aid of the operation and management to the Division and I've taken a careful look of the useful suggestions that had been made by some Members this evening about that and I've gratefully acknowledged the assistance given by Members outside the debate this evening freely giving out their time and their advise and I would like to say how grateful I am to them. In this connection, we shall be making a progress report to the Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services early next month.

Page 30Page 31