News

The Fifth Meeting of the Third Session of the Eighth Parliament gets underway at the House of Parliament on Thursday February 28^th, 2013.

At that meeting, Minister for Tourism and Legal Affairs Hon Ian Douglas will introduce a bill for an act to amend the criminal justice act.

The bill addresses the interviewing of suspects and the conducting of custodial interviews of persons arrested for serious crimes.

Clause 14 (d) provides that a written statement made by a suspect and read during a custodial interview must be electronically recorded.

Hon. Douglas will also introduce a bill which will seek to amend the criminal justice reform act to strengthen the provisions related to community service toward the end of ensuring that the mechanisms are in place to allow for effective use of the community service alternative to sentencing.

A bill will also be introduced to provide for the protection of witnesses in criminal proceeding and for related matters. It deals with witness anonymity.  In this part, provision is made for a court to grant a witness anonymity order. It also provides for a special measure to be put in place where a witness is eligible for assistance on the grounds of fear or distress about testifying.

A bill will also be introduced for amendments to the money laundering and suppression of the financing of the terrorism act.

Meantime, Energy Minister Hon. Rayburn Blackmoore will introduce a bill for an act to provide for the regulation of geothermal resources with the objective of ensuring the sustainable development of the resource and ensuring its allocation to the users that are most economically beneficial to Dominica.

Dominica’s Prime Minister Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit will seek parliamentary approval for supplementary estimates of expenditure for the period July to December 2012 amounting to eleven million, six hundred and thirty four thousand, four hundred and eighty four dollars and three cents.

The Meeting of Parliament begins at 10:00 am on Thursday this week and will be carried live on television and radio.