The members of the National Assembly once again called for a designated bench for corruption cases. This was one of the recommendations by the Good Governance Committee of the House while presenting the review report of the Anti-Corruption Commission’s Annual Report 2020-2021, today. The House unanimously endorsed the recommendation.
The Good Governance Committee recommended for the Royal Court of Justice to create a separate bench for corruption cases. This is to expedite the resolution of corruption cases delayed in prosecution.
According to the committee, the recommendation has been put up time and again but it was never implemented.
“I think this will affect the functions of the National Assembly. There is a manpower shortage in the ACC, OAG and even in the judiciary. The issue is going to continue- the corruption cases are going to keep on increasing if the implementing agencies are always facing a shortage of human resources. So, what we are suggesting is for the relevant agencies to submit a report of the actions taken on the recommendations,” said Dawa, a member of the Good Governance Committee.
“Regarding the creation of a separate bench, the judiciary is supporting it. His Majesty The King also visited and discussed it several times. But I don’t have any say regarding the result and order. So, they are concerned about it as well,” said the Prime Minister.
However, Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering said it will also set a precedent. “Today we are discussing expediting the corruption cases, NCWC asked about expediting women and children cases with specialized bench. Many are asking for such benches, but the judiciary is the lone institution with the authority to do so.”
“The recommendation is on creating a separate bench. As said by the committee members and other MPs, it is still under discussion. It was also recommended last year. But we can add that a report should be submitted next year,” said Opposition Leader Dorji Wangdi.
From January last year to June this year alone, six cases were forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General for prosecution. The OAG had a total of 11 cases under review as of June this year, while 45 were under trial.
As per the annual report, various Courts have passed 58 judgments from January 2020 to June 2021 related to 34 cases. The majority of the cases were related to embezzlement.
A total of 116 defendants were charged for corruption and other criminal offences, 71 were convicted, 24 acquitted and 21 deferred.
The Chairperson of the Legislative Committee, the Member of the Parliament from Bongo-Chapchha constituency in Chhukha is a member of the National Judicial Commission. So, the House directed her to discuss the issue of corruption cases and related matters and to submit a report.
The other recommendations include reminding the Office of the Attorney General and the Anti-Corruption Commission to expedite the restitution of the outstanding amount. There are more than Nu 412 M to be restituted as of June this year.
During the fifth session of the third Parliament, the House passed three resolutions related to the Anti-Corruption Commission of which only one resolution has been implemented. The resolutions on designating a separate Bench for corruption cases and to expedite the recovery of assets were in the stage of discussion with the relevant agency.
This time, the committee also recommended that the Royal Civil Service Commission provide ACC with the required manpower till the ACC is provided with complete operational independence.
The house endorsed all three recommendations with 37 Yes votes.
Phub Gyem/Tshering Zam
Edited by Yeshi Gyeltshen
