AG: We amended the most laws

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Faris Al-Rawi on Wednesday boasted that, under his tenure, more laws had been amended than under any of his predecessors. He was in the House of Representatives piloting the Miscellaneous Amendments (No 2) Bill 2020 to alter 35 existing laws.

These largely relate to the running of law courts and the payment of fees for licences such as for pawnbrokers, cinemas and liquor outlets.

“I can tell you something that may not be known. As Attorney General we have actually seen the amendment of over 300 pieces of law.

“This Government has just broken the record of every single attorney general in the history of TT.”

Al-Rawi explained how this had come about.

“If we take the recommendation of the Opposition we are going to take every bill on a one-by-one basis, and there just isn’t enough time in the parliamentary structure to do that.

“Therefore the Cabinet, under our Prime Minister, has accepted a very useful tool, the amendment of multiple pieces of law at the same time.”

Thursday’s bill amends acts on summary courts, petty civil courts, Sentencing Commission, Judicial and Legal Service, malicious damage, coinage, sexual and indictable offences (preliminary enquiry), community service orders, defence, firearms, explosives, Registrar General, electronic transactions, Elections and Boundaries Commission (local government and Tobago House of Assembly), mental health, children, motor vehicles and road traffic, conservation of wildlife, value added tax, Customs, liquor licences, administration of justice (indictable proceedings), criminal division and district criminal and traffic courts, and electronic payments into and out of court.