St. Kitts and Nevis’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Adlai Smith lately spoke on numerous points associated to justice and authorized affairs in an version of InFocus, together with elements that prosecutors take into consideration when figuring out whether or not to cost a person.
The occasion was held on the subject ‘Balancing Justice and Equity’ on January 29, 2025.
Smith informed the interviewer concerning the prosecutor’s code of conduct after he was requested about steps which might be being taken to make sure that the members of the workers within the DPP’s workplace have the best commonplace of moral conduct.
DPP needs to have every thing in written
“One of many issues I’ve realized in our division is that there aren’t any written tips nor any written protocols,” the DPP mentioned to start out with, including that his workers members are conscious that he seeks to have written paperwork so that there’s uniformity and stability when coping with specific issues.
Smith mentioned prosecutors’ code of conduct is one thing that he has been engaged on since 2024 as that will handle the moral requirements of a prosecutor.
He mentioned it’s a prolonged doc and he’s attempting to make it a proper doc to be made a part of his workplace library. Smith additionally mentioned that he’ll make the doc obtainable to the general public in order that it spreads consciousness concerning the concerns {that a} prosecutor takes under consideration when deciding whether or not to cost a person.
Two-check step
The DPP mentioned it’s a two-check step. First, one has to have a look at the standard of proof and decide whether or not there’s a cheap prospect of a conviction whether it is taken to trial. The second stage is to find out whether or not it’s within the public curiosity to convey the matter earlier than the court docket.
Public curiosity consists of issues equivalent to the quantity of assets obtainable or the kind of matter introduced earlier than the court docket. Smith gave an instance, saying if any individual stole one thing from a retailer for $2.
“Do I waste hundreds of {dollars} in court docket’s assets to prosecute any individual for 2 {dollars}? That’s an instance to point out whether or not one thing is in public curiosity,” the DPP mentioned.
Concerning the prosecutor’s code of conduct, Smith additionally mentioned that he has been attempting to sample one much like the conduct in Jamaica besides that he needed to replace it to replicate trendy modifications within the regulation because the Jamaican one is a decade outdated and legal guidelines have modified since then. He additionally agreed with the interviewer who interjected that the state of affairs in St. Kitts and Nevis is totally different than that in Jamaica.
Smith mentioned he hasn’t gone to the extent he would have appreciated on the matter however given the circumstances, it’s crucial that he moved sooner reasonably than later with the priority over a code of conduct.
St. Kitts and Nevis’s Director of Public Prosecutions is appointed by the governor-general, appearing in accordance with the advice of the Judicial and Authorized Providers Fee.
Through the InFocus programme, Smith additionally defined the general public reporting system whereby residents can produce dashcam or video footage of cases of reckless driving that can be utilized in court docket instances. This was one of many amendments to the Autos and Highway Site visitors Act that was handed in Parliament on January 30, 2025.
