Report No. 249
5. Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, Ordinance 38 of 1944
Category: Criminal Justice
Recommendation: Repeal with amendments to the existing law.
This Ordinance, which was promulgated to prevent the disposal or concealment of property procured by means of certain offences, is used extensively in conjunction with the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (POCA). It allows for application to attach property where the Government believed a scheduled offence had been committed. Scheduled offences under the ordinance include offences under the POCA.
While this Ordinance cannot be simply repealed, suitable amendments should be brought to the POCA so that attachment of property under the circumstances outlined in the Ordinance takes place through statute rather than a permanent ordinance which goes against the constitutional scheme.
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