DPP fighting corruption

This is a response from Paula V. Llewellyn, QC, director of public prosecutions, to the Gleaner editorial of June 15, titled 'The DPP and Fighting Corruption', and The Gleaner editorial of June 17, 'The DPP in an age of transparency'.

By virtue of Section 94(5) of the Constitution of Jamaica, the powers conferred upon the director of public prosecutions (DPP) shall be vested in the director of public prosecutions to the exclusion of any other person or authority. The DPP has the power to institute, take over and discontinue criminal proceedings.

This incumbent director is on record as having indicated that I consider myself accountable to the public of Jamaica, and barring the restrictions of confidentiality which attach to some of the matters that I deal with, I am prepared, where appropriate, to be transparent and to make myself and my officers available to the media and other members of civil society to explain aspects of the operations of the office. I believe that my record, since my appointment three years ago, so far speaks for itself.

It was stated in the editorial of June 15 that 30 criminal referrals have been made to the DPP for me to determine whether there have been criminal breaches; whether, on the evidence disclosed, arrest, charge and prosecution is warranted.

First of all, the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) is always at liberty to characterise matters in any way that it may find most convenient. However, the fact that its head, Mr Greg Christie, may have a particular opinion, I say with the utmost respect, is really irrelevant to my consideration or that of the courts whether on an objective set of criteria, based on criminal law and practice and procedure whether the particular matter referred to the ODPP is a matter where the public interest would be best served by progressing it to a formal prosecution. It is recognised worldwide by prosecution services that it is not every matter referred that one will move on to prosecute; the exercise of the DPP's discretion is based on a variety of factors.

Each case must be decided on its own merit and on a matter of law.

Their Lordships held, in Leonle Marshall and the DPP, Privy Council Appeal No. 2 of 2006, that: "... where the decision not to prosecute is based on an assessment of the sufficiency of the evidence, and the prospects of securing a conviction, the court will accord great respect and weight to the judgement of experienced prosecutors". The case further states that there is no duty on a DPP to outline reasons in respect of why a matter will not progress to prosecution. It has been my practice since I took office to give reasons, where possible, in matters of exceptional public interest.

I say, with the greatest of humility, that I have the privilege of having been a prosecutor for more than 26 years. I am supported by 39 other prosecuting attorneys, including seven deputy directors of public prosecution who have an aggregate of more than 70 years' experience as prosecutors.

In addition to the 467 matters before the Home Circuit Court and the 357 matters in the rural circuit courts, Crown Counsel must also attend to referrals/requests for rulings from:

a. The OCG

b. The Financial Investigations Division

c. The Customs Department

d. The Financial Services Commission

e. The Jamaica Defence Force

f. The Independent Commission of Investigations

g. All the various divisions and areas within the Jamaica Constabulary Force and all the specialised departments therein - Organised Crime, Anti-Corruption Branch, Narcotics, Cybercrimes Unit, etc.

The referrals from the OCG are less than one half of a per cent of the total number of referrals received from that office and dealt with here. The contractor general always has the option of going to the police with his referrals without involving the ODPP, an option which he has exercised, as recently as the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation matter.

The 30 referrals described above were matters related to quarterly reports on contractual activity to be filed by a particular time under the Contractor General Act to the OCG. It really is the criminalising of administrative breaches. We have prosecuted some of the offenders in appropriate cases and in other cases we have elected not to prosecute in light of the fact that the particular entities did not have any contract activity and so nothing to report. Some of the matters we have taken to court, the resident magistrates have admonished and discharged the offenders who have filed out of time.

compliance

We have given great support and commendation in the past to the contractor general for having achieved 100 per cent compliance. In fact, two members of the Anti-Corruption Unit in my office are in constant dialogue with the contractor general with a view to reconciling our records with theirs.

We prepare annual reports which we forward to the Ministry of Justice every year, and it is the ministry which would be responsible for transmitting these reports to Parliament. Included in this report are statistical data in relation to all aspects of the operations of the ODPP.

The ODPP is an experience-driven specialist chamber that is committed to dispensing justice fairly and efficiently to promote confidence in the rule of law, through consistent, fair, thorough and firm presentation of cases in court. We are dutybound to make decisions in the public interest according to well-grounded experience legal principles, without sympathy or prejudice to anyone. We have to base these decisions on the existing material before us and we cannot speculate.

The interest of justice demands that we continue to strive with integrity and excellence to overcome the challenges in our quest to deliver service above self. We remain committed.