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Fiji’s new Sentencing and Penalties Decree will remove inconsistencies in sentencing and ensure public confidence in the country’s criminal justice system says Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
He made the comments while closing a training workshop in Suva yesterday for prosecutors and police officers on the provisions of new laws coming into effect via three decrees on February 1.
The workshop was conducted by former High Court judge Nazhat Shameem.
The Crimes Decree, the Criminal Procedure Decree and the Sentencing and Penalties Decree represent Fiji’s first substantive reform of the criminal justice system since the 100-year-old Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code were first passed.
The Sentencing and Penalties Decree gives powers to the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to issue guidelines on sentencing judgments to ensure that sentences are consistent and proportionate to the offence.
Sayed-Khaiyum cited sentencing inconsistencies in the past such as one person getting a few years imprisonment for stealing $50,000 and another being jailed for nine months for stealing a tourist’s flip flops.
“When you have such disparities in the sentencing regime, it does not instill confidence in the public,” he told the workshop.
“The Sentencing and Penalties Decree is there to not just make your work easier but also to ensure there is confidence in the public regarding the criminal justice system.”
A government statement said the Crimes Decree for the first time creates offences of crimes against humanity and of people smuggling.
“The offence of rape is now gender neutral and is defined in a new and enlightened way,” it said.
The Criminal Procedure Decree has special provisions for the taking of the evidence of vulnerable witnesses, and spouses are now both competent and compellable to give evidence against the accused.
Prosecutors from the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Fiji National Provident and the Army Legal Services along with 70 senior police officers attended the four day workshop.
