Dominica is on its way to revising its laws and putting systems in place to have these laws in a well documented form
National Security and Justice Minister, Rayburn Blackmoore who was a guest on DBS Talking Point Programme on Monday, said a Law Commission was set up to help in that regard.
“That of course will encourage persons who want to read our laws to go and to purchase our laws and to get them in a well documented form,” he said. “ And you will appreciate that over the years you have seen the enactment of several pieces of legislation both in terms of primary laws and subsidiary laws but they are scattered all over the place. So what we are seeking to do therefore is to put a system in place, that is why we have called it the Law Commission, we are going to ensure that the persons, the relevant competences are going to man this commission and to provide of course tools…in terms of the appropriate software that you need to do your work and office space etc and the human resource component.”
According to him, the programme is expected to take up to two years.
“Once we are finished dealing with the whole issue about the revision of our laws, it is left to cabinet to decide what is the further mandate of that commission,” he explained.
Blackmoore revealed that government plans to seek funding from the Commonwealth Secretariat to assist in the venture.
“We have made provision to finance the first couple years …we are having discussions with the Commonwealth Secretariat and I would like to commend the effort of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for facilitating and being very much instrumental in helping us establish contact with the Commonwealth Secretariat to provide further funding,” he stated.
He said there are fundamental issues that have to be dealt with when it comes to revising the laws of the island.
“We would like to look at the whole issue of reform and to facilitate reform, you need to have some core competences. One of those being legal drafting, which is critical and of course we will be getting the assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat in that whole area so we can develop local capacity in that regard,” he said.
Legal Consultant, Ray Harris who heads the Commission explained that a law revision is used to facilitate the administration of justice, the enforcement of law and order and the management of the public and private sector.”
He noted that many legal authorities indicate that a country can only be said to be ruled by the rule of law, “when the laws are not only available but the extant law, that is the existing law on any given subject, is easily ascertainable.”
He gave the example of the Income Tax Law, which was last revised in Dominica in 1990.
“It is now 2015, you are talking about 25 years of laws being passed,” he noted. “Let’s say that a law has been amended 20-30 times over that period, you can imagine if you were a judge on the bench or you were someone in the public who wanted to know a particular point of law relating to income tax, you may go into the Income Tax Act and Section 54 may have been amended 6 to 7 (times) … so what is the law now in?”
He said when laws are not revised, “it makes it difficult not only for judges, magistrates, lawyers but people who are trying to access the law.”
“Hence what is necessary every now and then, that is what revision is, is to consolidate in every single subject area all those amendments so that we have what we call a revision date,” Harris said.
Let’s hope that the government will see it fit to make this commission to review the laws of Dominica will be independent of the government and encompasses all minds including the opposition.
why do we keep allowing men to decide what or where or who we deal with or what we are allowed to do in life? laws should be discussed by representatives of all districts and sections of said country, just this man and his commision shouldnt have the power or the right to decide and revise laws for their own well being, disgusting, i love my home and miss my home, please dont let this fool turn it into a new york, or a kiev
The decision is for the present government and the elected opposition. They reserve that right. It is not something which will be effected overnight. There will first be discussions and debates. Hope the decision will be unanimous. The majority wins.
Members of the public could offer suggestions.
Revising Laws mean nothing if it is not going to be enforced. We have Laws on the books that are currently being broken every day. No one is held accountable. What is the point in revising Laws if they are not being enforced. Do the law need revision or amendments?
And while ‘revising’ some of them laws, actually change a comma or a word in it for a change….
My beloved Labour Party continues to work hard for Dominica. Our laws definitely needs to be revised and some major changes needs to be made as well. We should enact laws to punish the opposition and their ignorant supporters for lying and deception, misleading the public and attempting to brainwash our youth with their jealous and moronic ideologies. It would even be sweeter to hear the Judge say that they are sentenced to weekly public floggings while serving thirty-five years of hard “LABOUR”
I think that the law commision should be a seperate branch from the goverment to avoid influnce on issues dealing and concerning the laws in dominica. Almost like the Judicial system in the USA. Prime ministers or Presidents should not be able to sway or have influence over those people
Either way the government will still have to be informed and involved.
on the run-up to elections the PM made mention of revising the marijuana laws in dominica. I wonder if its in the amendments ..
okay..great…..and the first order of business,is to implement TERM LIMITS for the government….all the leading democracies have it…a two term limit for any prime minister and his cabinet of this land is a must!!!!!!!!!!! second order of business, strong CAMPAIN FINANCE LAWS AND REGULATIONS…….you see where this is going…take note blackmoore. you and your cronies…
Appoint former Attorneys-General to the Commission- including Bernard Wilshire, Anthony La Ronde, Henry Babs Dyer, David Bruney and Francine Royer- Baron and former magistrates GON Emanuel ,Ossie Lewis and former Registrar Winston-Watty.
I back you Honorable Minister, Its about time that we do some cleaning up….
I back you Honourable Minister,Its about time that we do some cleaning up….
For what happened in Court today the first LAW should do with sexual acts against children
Wake up DA’can’s, if this comes to fruition and people start reading what has been written, they will probably be in for a shock, mostly because they won’t have anything beforehand to compare these documents to. An uneducated public is putty in the hands of the people in control of the govt.
Legalize Marijuana, this will be great for DA..