00:00an amendment to the administration of justice indictable proceedings bill 2025
00:06called a jipper for short was brought before the lower house by attorney general john jeremy
00:12senior counsel the amendment reintroduces power to justices of the peace to issue search warrants
00:18this power was removed from a jipper in 2023 in providing justification for the move jeremy
00:25drew parallel with the present state of emergency saying there has been a drastic reduction in
00:31gang-related murders and other violent crimes the ag states that thousands of exercises and
00:36raids have been conducted and many detention orders executed but the police service has advised that
00:45the limited availability of judicial officers and in particular masters and registrars to issue search
00:54warrants when time-sensitive investigations demand immediate intervention has significantly
01:04hampered policing efforts in some cases under the state of emergency a search warrant isn't needed
01:12for police officers to enter the homes of people jeremy notes that there have been abuses of power
01:19by justices of the peace citing the brian thomas case as an example where a justice of the peace
01:24issued a warrant for his arrest the manner in which it was done was criticized judicially
01:29the ag states that there is an ethical code of conduct that was never enacted and it just it just
01:36asks ordinary persons who are justices of the peace to hold the scales of justice
01:42even between the police officers requesting action and the citizens port of spain south mp and attorney at
01:52law keith scotland says jps have minimal requirements to fulfill when it comes to education and experience
01:59when compared with judicial officers like masters of the court who he indicates must be verse in the law
02:06a letter applying to become a justice of the peace a recent resume two references a copy of national
02:18identification but what is most troubling do you know who they have to apply to which office they have
02:28to apply to to become a justice of the peace you must apply to the office of the honorable attorney general
02:36his concern is that the powers are broad allowing the searching of multiple properties devices vehicles
02:44etc if you sever the inclusion of justices of the peace and if that is severed we support this bill
02:54but minister of legal affairs adam hussein says people who feel they have been treated unfairly can
03:01seek redress through the court system he also states that work has already begun by way of
03:06a committee that is looking at the jp system issues that we have identified for example
03:12the modernizing the appointment process and keeping with leading practices in the commonwealth
03:17the minimum qualifications age requirements and tenure of office the governance review code of ethics and
03:24the establishment of a disciplinary body and those are some of the matters that i my colleague the
03:29minister of justice had raised with me the continuous upskilling of license justices of the peace for
03:35proper administration of justice he says the appointment process for jps is rigorous including
03:41background checks by police hussein indicates that there are about 126 jps in the country as at the
03:48year 2020 and he accuses the pnm administration of not appointing any from 2019 to 2024 as the bill went into
03:57committee stage the opposition's proposed amendment to remove justices of the peace from the legislation was
04:03rejected by the government 27 27 members voted in favor of the bill 12 members voted against and there
04:13were no abstentions bill has been passed 27 12 alicia boucher tv6 news
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