PEOPLES UNITED PARTY

NO. 3 Queen Street, P.O. Box 506 Belize City, Belize Tel: 674-9958, 224-5886 Fax: 223-3476

PEOPLES UNITED PARTY POSITION PAPER ON PROPOSED LEGISLATION

A. INTRODUCTION: On 13th May, 2011 the Prime Minister, Hon. Dean Barrow, introduced in the House by way of first reading, the following Legislation which he described as being anti-crime initiatives.: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. CRIME CONTROL AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011. BELIZE CONSTITUTION (EIGHT AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011 INDICTABLE PROCEDURE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011 JURIES (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011 SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011.

The Peoples United Party recognizes and appreciates that our nation, Belize, is faced with a crisis of crime and violence which deserves and demands our collective attention, commitment, and sense of responsibility. Our position on the proposed crime legislation is grounded in this understanding and in our duty to Belizeans and our Nation to ensure the protection and preservation of their fundamental rights and freedoms. It is a fundamental responsibility of a Government to ensure the safety and personal security of its citizens but repression cannot and should not be justified on a false promise of security.

Serve the People

2 It is the intention of the Peoples United Party to participate fully and actively in the hearings and public consultations of the Constitution and Foreign Affairs House Committee of the House of Representatives, and to engage our own members in a dialogue and discussion on these Bills. We intend to take a robust stand in the National Assembly, House and Senate in the debates which will be held on these laws

B. REVIEW OF BILLS: 1. Crime Control and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill, 2011 At the first meeting of the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives (PUP Representatives present were. Hon. John Briceno and Hon. Francis Fonseca) held on Monday June 6, 2011 the Chairman (Hon. Patrick Faber) announced that Cabinet had taken a decision to withdraw this Bill from further consideration at this time.

2.

Belize Constitution (Eight Amendment) Bill, 2011

This Bill proposes to amend Sections 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the Belize Constitution. Each section of the proposed bill is examined in turn. a. SECTION 5 -PREVENTIVE DETENTION

Section 5 of the Constitution safeguards the right of all Belizean Citizens to personal liberty. Preventive Detention is the locking up of a citizen, resident or any other person in Belize, legally or illegally for the time being, for an indefinite period. Under the proposed amendment it will be for a period of up to 52 days in the first instance; 21 days and a further 30 days on an ex-parte application to Supreme Court.

3 Under the proposed amendment, nothing prevents any detainees from being detained for more than one consecutive 21 day period. Such preventive detention may be done without informing the detainee of the reasons for such detention and without laying any formal charges against that person. During that period of detention, the detainee will be denied all of those personal liberty rights customarily associated with being detained - or even on remand - such as access to a lawyer, access to family members especially in the case of minors, access to a phone call, access to medical treatment and care, access to a Justice of the Peace and access to the Supreme Court (habeas corpus). The PUP cannot and will not support this proposed amendment to the Constitution of Belize which will allow for the detention of any Belizean citizen or person being within Belize, including minors and children, for a period of up to 52 days (or more since there is no prohibition against repeated detention) on the basis of mere suspicion, not even reasonable suspicion., This provision seeks to deny long standing fundamental rights and freedoms to citizens and non-nationals alike. These freedoms and rights are the basis of any vibrant democracy which is committed to the rule of law. Our Constitutions very preamble states that Belize is a nation which recognizes that men and institutions remain free when such freedom is founded on the rule of law. Article 1 states that Belize shall be a sovereign democratic State.

b. SECTION 6 -ANONYMOUS AND FEARFUL WITNESSES Section 6 of the Constitution provides for equal protection of the law to all Belizeans. The proposed amendment to clause 3 of s.6 states that it shall not be a contravention of the right of an accused person to know the identity of a witness who has given a statement in evidence against him or her.

4 This amendment therefore allows for a law to be enacted to provide for anonymity of witnesses in criminal trials, as well as admission of witness statements into evidence in place of oral evidence; and testimony of witnesses by video link and other means in order to secure the safety of the witness. The PUP is painfully aware that intimidation and, in some tragic cases, the wanton murder of witnesses in criminal trials has become far too commonplace in Belize. Such homicide as intimidation and strikes at the heart of our system of justice and shall not be tolerated. The fundamental, long-standing common law and natural justice right enshrined in our Constitution, of every accused person to know his or her accuser, to face that accuser, and to challenge the veracity of that accuser thru cross-examination, should not be so readily sacrificed even on the altar of crisis, much less in a spirit of desperation. The very preamble of our supreme law states that the People of Belize affirm that the Nation of Belize shall be founded on principles which acknowledge the supremacy of God and faith in human rights and fundamental freedoms. Any derogation from those human rights and fundamental freedoms is by necessity fraught with peril for the citizen and non-national alike. What makes this amendment particularly egregious is that the enabling provision which will be written into our Constitution will allow the passage of laws which not only provides for the anonymity of witnesses to protect the safety of the witnesses or another person; but also to prevent any damage to property. Threats of Damage to property should never outweigh the right of an accused to know who the accuser is. Likewise, the provision that will allow for laws to be passed which provides for the admission of witness statements into evidence where a witness is unwilling to give or to continue to give oral evidence through fear of death or bodily injury to him or to a member of his family, or damage to his property is equally problematic.

5 The right of an accused to test the veracity of a witness by crossexamination should not be based on a fear of damage to property, and should only give way in carefully prescribed circumstances with all adequate safeguards to preserve fairness, in the case of fear of death or bodily injury to a witness or his/her family.

c.

SECTION 7 - DEATH PENALTY

Section 7 of the Constitution provides for protection from inhuman treatment. The proposed amendment seeks to put beyond any challenge the imposition of a mandatory death sentence or the execution of such a sentence as being inhuman or degrading punishment. The proposed amendment is written in an attempt to evade a particular ruling of the Courts and is not being placed in the Constitution in pursuance of any empirical evidence that it is either necessary or desirable. This proposed amendment will only serve to projects a false sense of security and hope in the face of a sobering, dismal and unacceptable 7% conviction rate and the equally unacceptable rate of Nolle Prosequi cases by the Office of the DPP. It is not the system to impose capital punishment that is broken; it is the liability of those who are tasked with the implementation of the system that is in question.

d.

SECTION 8 - FORCED LABOUR

Section 8 of the Constitution protects our citizens from slavery and forced labor. The proposed amendment to clause 5 of s.8 of the Constitution provides that any community service required of a person of or above the age of 16 years shall not be deemed to be forced labor. The PUP does not support a Constitutional Amendment broadening the definition of forced labor. In recognition of the serious challenges faced by our security forces and the justice system in dealing with youth offenders, we support a review and strengthening

6 of the Penal System Reform (Alternative Sentences) Act No. 41 of 2001 to provide for more effective and stringent Community Service Orders.

e.

SECTION 6 (10) (b) -TRIAL WITHOUT A JURY

While the Constitution of Belize does not specifically provide for trial by jury, it is well established that the right of a man or woman to be tried by a jury of his or her peers (in cases of serious crimes) is a longstanding, valued and cherished right. The proposed amendment to s.6 (10) (b) of the Constitution provides for trial without a jury in certain criminal cases to forestall any argument that jury trial is an essential ingredient of a fair trial guaranteed by the Constitution. The PUP firmly believes that the right to a trial by jury is the cornerstone of any fair trial, and a hallmark of our democracy which is founded upon the rule of law. In many jurisdictions where this has been passed, it is not an amendment of the Constitution only applies to cases dealing with terrorist acts and is of limited application to the Citizen. Consequently, we do not support the proposed amendment, which is sufficiently permissive along with the proposed amendments to the Indictable Procedure Act and the Juries Act, to allow for all criminal cases in the Supreme Court to be tried without a jury. Further, Belizeans and non-nationals in Belize will not be allowed to appeal the decision of a judge to try a case without a jury and where a person is acquitted by a judge, the prosecution has a right of appeal against that acquittal.

3. THE INDICTABLE PROCEDURE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011 As discussed above, provides for trial without a jury in certain criminal cases in the Supreme Court.

7 The PUP does not support an amendment to the law providing for mandatory trial without a jury particularly one, as pointed out above, grounded in a Constitutional Amendment. In the new proposed 65 B, the prosecution may apply to the judge for the trial to be conducted without a jury on any one or more of those grounds which are set out in subsection (2) which include (d) that the complexity of the trial or the length of the trial (or both) is likely to make the trial so burdensome to the jury that the interests of justice require that the trial should be conducted without a jury. This last is clearly intended as an omnibus provision to catch any and all cases and offers only vague guidelines as to complexity and length and offers too much room for subjectivity as to what would be burdensome to any given jury; and as what do the interests of justice require. Even worse is the provision to be enacted as Section 65B (6) - (6) No appeal shall lie against the order of the judge granting or refusing the application for the trial to be conducted without a jury. This would effectively oust the jurisdiction of any appellate court of Belize to review the exercise of the Trial Judges discretion and forestall any inquiry as to whether that discretion was properly exercised. We can support reviewing the Indictable Procedure Act with a view to strengthening that Act and providing for particular cases in which there is a discretion given to State via an application to a Judge of the Supreme Court, , but only if that discretion may be appealed, to order a trial without a jury.

4.

THE JURIES (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011

This Bill complements the Indictable Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2011 and makes consequential amendments to the Juries Act to provide for trial without a jury in certain criminal cases.

5. THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011This Bill provides that an appeal against the decision of a magistrate shall NOT operate as an automatic stay of execution of the Magistrates decision as presently provided for under s.112 of the Act, subject to certain exceptions. This section of the Act is being abused and unfortunately, some Magistrates are taking an unduly long time to give reasons for their decisions. The Bill provides that a stay of execution of a decision is not automatic but has to be applied for and states further that the Magistrate must give the reasons for his or her decision within 7 days. The Bill does not affect the right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail pending appeal. The PUP does support this amendment.

C THE WAY FORWARD: The PUP is committed to a meaningful and serious collaboration with the Government and all Belizeans on all issues of crime, violence and human security. In this spirit, we have over the last three years offered meaningful proposals to the relevant authorities which we believe can assist in the fight against crime and violence. Overall strategic action in combating crime and violence requires a properly resourced, properly trained and motivated Police Department that commands respect and respects the fundamental rights and freedoms of our Belizean Citizens.

9 We have called on the Government to: 1. Develop and share with all stakeholders its National Plan to win the war on crime, drugs, gangs, and violence. 2. Recognize the established link between the conditions of growing poverty and lessening opportunities on the one hand, and surging crime and violence on the other, and as such propose a comprehensive National Plan for generating economic growth, restoring confidence of the business community, securing increased private and public sector investment, meeting job creation targets and implementing measurable social interventions. 3. Seek immediate technical assistance to address the new threat of urban terrorism by way of grenade attacks. 4. Significantly increase the annual Police recruit Intake. 5. Significantly increase the number of police officers on patrol in Belize City. 6. Re-open and Re-activate all the Police Booths and Sub-Stations that have been closed over the past three years. 7. Re-activate and adequately resource the Community Policing and Neighborhood Watch Programs. 8. Adequately resource and train the investigative branch of the Belize Police Department including the Forensic Unit. 9. Adequately staff and resource the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Prosecution Branch of the Police department. 10. Act on the findings of the Crooks Report.