by Emmanuel H. Joseph
Government Information Service
The Integrity Commission has rejected the complaint of breaches of the code of conduct lodged by the Citizens’ Forum for Good Governance against Hon. Ambrose George.
In their letters dated 13 and 15 October 2008, the Citizens’ Forum for Good Governance complained to the commission that Hon. Ambrose George had breached paragraphs ‘E’ and ‘G’ of the code of conduct specified in the second schedule to the integrity in public office act of 2003. Paragraph E, page 211 of the act reads, “A person shall not use his official influence in support of any scheme or in furtherance of any contract or proposed contract or other matter in regard to which he has an interest”. Paragraph G of the same section reads, “A person shall not use or allow the use of public property (including money), equipment, supplies or services or any purpose other than for officially approved purposes.”
Hon. Ambrose George
In his letter dated 2nd September, 2008, Mr. Lennox Linton complained to the Commission that Prime Minister Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit had breached paragraphs (d), (e), (g) and (i) of the Code of Conduct specified in the Second Schedule to the Integrity in Public Office Act, 2003.
Paragraphs (d) reads, “A person in public life shall not allow private interests to conflict with his public duties or improperly influence his conduct in the performance of his public duties; allow the pursuit of his private interest to interfere with the proper discharge of his public duties; and any conflict between his private interests and his public duties shall be reserved in favour of his public duties. Paragraph (i) reads, “A person in public life shall not in the course of the performance of his official duties, aid, abet, counsel, procure or command any other person to commit a breach of this Code of Conduct.”
At its meeting on 18 February, 2009, the commission considered the complaint by the Citizens’ Forum together with their submissions made at the hearing on 30 December, 2008, and concluded that the Citizens’ Forum had failed to convince the Commission that Hon. Ambrose George had breached the code of conduct.
Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit
Prime Minister of Dominica
At its meetings on the 12th and 18th of February, 2009, the Commission considered the complaint by Mr. Linton together with his submissions made at the hearing on the 30th of December, 2008 and concluded that he had failed to convince the Commission that the Prime Minister Skerrit had breached the Code of Conduct.
The commission, in its reason for its decision, said, “A person cannot be held to be in breach of the code of conduct before he became a person in public life within the meaning of the act or before the code of conduct, specified in the second schedule, entered into force.”
The IPO Act, of 2003 under which government Hon. Ambrose George and Prime Minister Skerrit became a person in public life only came into operation on the first day of September 2008…a date authorised by the sovereign parliament of the Commonwealth of Dominica and the can only be applied as from that date.
Julian Johnson
Chairman of the IPO Commission
The commission is prohibited by the provisions of section 8(4) of the constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica from retrospectively applying its powers to investigate actions which were not criminal offences before the act came into force.
The commission must also be guided by and is required to apply the common law principle which precludes the application of any subsequent legislation creating an offence to any conduct that precedes it in time.
The commission is confronted by the fact that the alleged breaches of the rules in the paragraphs (e) and (g) of the code of conduct specified in the second schedule to the act by Hon. Ambrose George took place during a period before the act entered into operation.
The decision was signed by all seven members of the Integrity Commision. |
