?It would be inconceivable and a waste of time and money for the Uff Commission of Enquiry to be started all over again and to rehear evidence, Attorney General John Jeremie said yesterday. "An inquiry was conducted and there is absolutely no reason to repeat the process–it is as simple as that," Jeremie added yesterday in the Senate as he piloted legislation to validate the commission. Jeremie stated: "The commission has spent a great amount of time to gather evidence and other material relevant to its mandate and a substantial amount of money has been spent from the national purse, and the public awaits a report with perhaps, recommendations for reform from the commission, on the several matters within its terms of reference."
When asked by UNC Senator Wade Mark to give the cost of the year-long inquiry, Jeremie said he would not know that cost. Jeremie added, "But that is not relevant to the matter that is before us this afternoon–we're validating the Commission of Enquiry." The legislation requiring a special three-fifths majority for passage became critical following Government's failure to meet a legal requirement to publish a notice of the commission in the Gazette following its appointment on September 2008. Consequently, the commission was suspended in September 2009–the eve of the completion of its task.
Jeremie said Government still does not know why the notice was not published.
He said a retired Appeal Court judge was appointed to investigate the situation and a report will be ready "in the very near future." The AG assured that the bill will not give blanket immunity to the commission from anything that was done to breach the law and did not protect the commission from the judicial review proceedings against the commission. However, the legislation will validate all proceedings from the time the commission was appointed and all evidence of witnesses.
It will also protect the commission and media from legal action in its deliberations of/and reporting on the enquiry respectively. It will further allow evidence collected by the commission to be used in preparation of its report. Jeremie noted that since the commission had not been properly "gazetted" it was not protected by law from legal challenges.