Prosecutor General

Prosecutor General’s Officer has said the office will appeal Criminal Court’s decision to stop all proceedings of the court.

Criminal Court stopped accepting cases and halted all proceedings today in protest over the absence of a Prosecutor Genera (PG). The State’s chief prosecutor post has been vacant for over a month since Ahmed Miuzzu resigned on 25 November.

At a press conference held at the Prosecutor General’s Office today, Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem said the office is waiting for a written confirmation of the Criminal Court's decision to appeal it in High Court.

“We have not received the Criminal Court’s decision in writing. We have asked Criminal Court to provide it,” Shameem said.

He said that although the law requires the parliament to appoint a PG within 30 days of the post’s vacancy, the law also gives the Deputy Prosecutor General to execute the PG’s responsibilities in a cases where the parliament fails to stick to the allotted time period.

“In cases where the Prosecutor General resigns or becomes incapable of carrying out his duties, I couldn’t find a clause that says that the Deputy Prosecutor General’s assumption of the Prosecutor General’s powers is limited to just 30 days from his resignation,” Shameem said today.

Contrary to Criminal Court’s decision, Juvenile Court, Drug Court and the High Court, all of which receive cases from the prosecutor’s office, still continue to accept cases and conduct proceedings.

An official from the Juvenile Court said the that law silent on how to proceed when the parliament fails to fulfill its obligation in this case.

However, the official noted that the state is obligated to expedite juvenile cases as much as possible and that regardless of an absent PG, Juvenile Court will continue accepting a deliberating all cases.