The bill tabled by Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC in November last year to repeal the committal powers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was last evening amended and passed in the National Assembly.
The Criminal Law (Proce-dure) (Amendment) Bill 2022 which saw support from both sides of the house provides for that power to be vested in a High Court judge.
In March 2022, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in a unanimous ruling annulled Section 72 of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, by which the DPP was empowered to order the committal of a murder accused for trial, even though a magistrate would have found no prima facie evidence to so do.