A bill proposing amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act aimed at providing additional opportunities for the state to submit secret evidence in criminal cases was accepted by the People's Majlis today.
The bill was accepted into the Parliament with the unanimous vote of 45 members who participated in the voting. No member voted against it. Following the acceptance of the bill into Parliament, it has now been forwarded to the Judiciary Committee for further review.
This bill was introduced to Parliament in August by the PNC Member for the Funadhoo constituency, Mohamed Mamdhooh. The primary purpose stated for introducing the bill is to review the procedures regarding the disclosure of evidence and to bring necessary changes to the law in connection with the bill on asset recovery/proceeds of crime.
The bill specifies information that the state is not required to disclose. Currently, under the law, information that the state is not required to disclose includes reports and documents prepared by a state prosecutor or agent solely for the internal use of that office or agency, as well as statements given by a witness or potential witness to a government employee or prosecutor.
However, the bill adds other elements to that section. These are:
- Information that would identify a person who carried out a covert operation, or information regarding a secret witness
- Any evidence or information that is determined under another law as evidence or information that does not need to be disclosed to the accused party
Through this bill, the state receives additional powers for withholding and protecting evidence. Accordingly, additional circumstances under which the state can apply to keep evidence secret include:
- Situations where operational information of criminal investigations might be disclosed
- Damage to the personal information or trade secrets and interests of a third party
- Situations where disclosing evidence could facilitate an additional crime or constitute an act of contempt of court.
According to the bill, if the reason for the state's decision not to disclose specific evidence or information ceases to exist after the trial of a case commences, the state must disclose that evidence or information to the accused party as soon as possible.
The bill does not bring major changes to the circumstances in which the accused party can request a protective order for evidence. Currently under the law, an accused person can request to protect evidence in situations involving physical harm, reasonable significant economic loss, coercion, or where the weight of the evidence might be compromised, damaged, or destroyed.
The inclusion in the bill proposes the removal of the situation involving reasonable significant economic loss or coercion.
During the debate on this bill, opposition members expressed concern, describing it as a bill designed by the government with the intention of targeting and framing political rivals.
However, members belonging to the government denied those statements. Those members assured that these amendments are not changes brought to exert influence over cases ongoing in courts, but rather an effort to strengthen the legal system.
Furthermore, as work on drafting a specific law regarding proceeds of crime is underway in Parliament, the bill also includes the repeal of Sections 192 through 197 of the Criminal Procedure Act (the chapter relating to the confiscation of proceeds of crime and assets).
