LAHORE: The Punjab government is going to make it compulsory for all public prosecutors to follow the code of conduct recently issued by the prosecutor general to ensure maximum convictions by courts, or face disciplinary action on the charge of misconduct.

According to official sources on Sunday, the mandatory implementation of the code of conduct in letter and spirit and the punishment for not doing so was being introduced by amending the Punjab Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Act 2006, through a bill likely to be tabled in the Punjab Assembly in its session scheduled to be held on Oct 14.

The original law did provide in its Section 17 that the code of conduct would be issued by the prosecutor general with the prior approval of the government. Now another clause is being inserted in the same section to provide that a prosecutor shall perform functions under this act in accordance with the code of conduct.

‘Ensure maximum convictions by courts or face action’

A senior official said that a failure to follow the code of conduct would mean misconduct and action under the PEEDA as a result.

He said a comprehensive code of conduct was issued a few months ago in view of the dire need of regulating conduct and performance of prosecutors of all levels so that they could produce the desired results of error-free prosecution of criminal cases, and high rate of convictions as a result.

In the absence of such code of conduct, prosecutors would act at their whims. Consequently, the results were disparate and faulty checking of cases prepared by police and then pursuing them appeared a fruitless exercises.

Officials said the code of conduct did mention that prosecutors must comply with it while taking prosecution decisions. But the amendment in the basic law would make it compulsory.

Some of the guidelines provided in the code of conduct say that prosecutors must cooperate and coordinate with police to ensure fair and just prosecutions.

Coordination and cooperation means and entails guidance to police regarding possible lines of enquiry, evidential requirements and pre-charge procedures.

It is meant to assist police and other investigators to complete the investigation within a reasonable period of time and to build the most effective prosecution case.

The decision to prosecute is a serious step that affects suspects, victims, witnesses and the public at large, and must be taken with the utmost care and caution.

Prosecutors must always act in the interests of justice and not solely for the purpose of obtaining a conviction. Acting in the interest of justice means that prosecutors must acquaint themselves with the facts and circumstances of the case and work to ensure that the right person is prosecuted for the right offence and no one else.

Prosecutors must also ensure that the law is properly applied, that relevant evidence is put before the court and that obligations of disclosure are met. Prosecutors must also consider whether trial is the best solution.

A decision to prosecute or not to prosecute must be taken when a review of the police case has been finalized.

A prosecutor may lawfully direct a police officer to rectify evidential weaknesses at any stage of the investigation A prosecutor must direct the police to ensure forensic analysis of items collected, collect additional evidence, follow a line of enquiry, provide additional information about the collection of evidence and additional information about the circumstances of a witness, and explain why a key witness was not examined.

The prosecution should have a significant impact in terms of deterrence of crime and or boosting the community’s confidence in the rule of law.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2016