Dear Editor,
We wholeheartedly agree with the GHRA in its opinion of the Chief Justice’s ruling on Sexual Offences Act (SOA) paper committals (press release: ‘Justice Chang’s judgement another blow to access to justice for victims of sexual offences,‘ reported in Stabroek News of August 18 (‘Chief Justice’s paper committal ruling “flawed”‘).
The introduction of paper committals was one of the most important procedural reforms in the Sexual Offences Act, intended to address the issues with the preliminary enquiry process so cogently set out in the Stamp it Out! consultation document, not only in the interest of victims of sexual offences but in the interest of cost and efficiency savings.
Paper committals are standard procedure in many countries, including Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, all of which have constitutions guaranteeing the right to fair trial and in none of which have paper committals been found to be unlawful.
The purpose of proceedings in the magistrates’ court is simply to assess whether there is sufficient evidence for a case to go to trial. It is not a trial in itself and the Chief Justice’s digging up and reliance on a 42 year old case in the face of accepted procedure in sister Caribbean countries, and the provisions of the SOA referred to by the GHRA that allow submissions by the accused or his attorney, is, to put it mildly, astonishing.
The Act, which was drafted based on best practices in numerous Commonwealth countries, was passed after countrywide Stamp it Out! consultations, a toothcomb review by the Attorney General’s Chambers and lengthy consideration by a Parliamentary Select Committee comprising experienced lawyers from both sides of the House (one wonders, therefore, how the Act can have, as the Chief Justice is reported to have said, “amazed a lot of people”!), and was welcomed as a long overdue and desperately needed reform of both the substantive and procedural law relating to sexual offences.
The Chief Justice’s recent ruling is indeed another blow to access to justice for victims of sexual offences and we urge that it be addressed as a matter of the most extreme urgency.
Yours faithfully,
Denise Dias
Yvonne Quintin
Margaret Kertzious
Gaitrie Shivsankar
Josephine Whitehead
For Help & Shelter
