Source: The Malay Mail Online
BY JAHABERDEEN MOHAMED YUNOOS
SEPT 5 — The Attorney-General’s (AG) Office is understandably of concern to the citizens. In our country, the attorney-general heads the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) which is responsible for a host of duties and responsibilities including drafting of statutes, regulations, and by laws, advising the government on legal matters and instituting and conducting criminal prosecutions.
The AGC, therefore, in its role of prosecuting for offences or deciding not to prosecute becomes a vital part of the country’s justice system.
The public in general is affected by the AG’s use of discretion as provided for under Article 145 (3) of the Federal Constitution. It provides that the AG “shall have power, exercisable at his discretion, to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for an offence, other than proceedings before a Muslim court, a native court or a court-martial”.
It means the AG can decide to charge someone for an offence or not and also whether a criminal proceeding against someone should be discontinued. In cases where a criminal act may be the subject of several offences or statutes, the AG may exercise his discretion as to which charges and how many he wants to proffer.
I believe the discretionary powers given to the AG must not only be exercised in accordance with the law, as it is his duty to uphold the rule of law, it must also be exercised compassionately. The power, for example, to discontinue proceedings in certain cases, requires the consideration of facts and circumstances that are peculiar to a particular case. Read more →