UNC: AG gave 'false narrative' on Evidence Bill

Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has said Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi misled Parliament by saying the Law Association supported the Evidence (Amendment) Bill.

In a statement on Wednesday, Persad-Bissessar pointed out that the Law Association on Tuesday expressed its reservations about the bill, which it said it could not support in its present form.

Debate on the bill began in Parliament on Friday. It was piloted by Al-Rawi, who said it has been the subject of a special select committee and had the support of several government institutions, including the Law Association, the Judiciary, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the police and the prisons service, among others.

Persad-Bissessar said the opposition noted the concerns of the Law Association and its call for “open and good-faith dialogue among all stakeholders” of the criminal justice system.

“To this end, as the opposition, we continue to fulfil our constitutional role inside and outside of the Parliament to ensure the protection of our constitution and have clearly expressed our concerns regarding the Evidence (Amendment) Bill, 2020.”

In its present form the bill only requires a simple majority and can be passed with government’s support alone, she said, as the AG has "yet again" removed the special-majority requirement.

She said the Opposition condemned the AG for his "false narrative that somehow the opposition is required to support this piece of law.”

She said the passage of the bill has far-reaching consequences and could potentially lead to simple errors resulting in the inadmissibility of evidence and cause criminal cases to collapse in court.

“The nation was shocked to learn that after 15 years, DNA analysis in the Sean Luke murder trial is still not ready. The system needs to be fixed before introducing any new law.”

She also said the bill does not address issues at the Forensic Science Centre, which was “plagued with a myriad of problems which has fallen on deaf ears."

Problems such as staffing, a "ridiculous" backlog of cases, failure to operationalise the DNA database and populate the DNA databank, she said, had inevitably led to "the sluggish pace of criminal cases in court.”

Persad-Bissessar also identified other aspects of national security she said were in need of urgent attention, including the Coast Guard, the under-resourcing of the police, protection of witnesses, and prison reform, among others.

She concluded, “The only way forward is not only in legislation, but a comprehensive overhaul of the criminal justice system and that discussion must take place with all the stakeholders involved.”