The sixth meeting of the ninth Parliament has so far passed three Bills out of the ten Bills that have come before the House.
They are the Magistrates’ Courts (Amendment) Bill 2014, the Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Bill 2014 and the 2013 Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2014. .
The Magistrates’ Courts Act (hereafter referred to as the “principal Act”) was amended by repealing section 69, cap 20 and substituting therefore the new section 69A.
The insertion of the new section 69A has welcomed the usage of a suitable recording device for the electronic record of the proceedings.
Before this amendment, the Magistrate only took down in writing the oral evidence given before the Court. But the amendments will now enable the Magistrates Court to use suitable recording devices for the recording of evidence before the court.
The Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Bill 2014 adds a new insertion 315A to the Criminal Procedure Code Act to enable proceedings conducted in Magistrates Court to be recorded using suitable recording device.
Other Bills that are still before Parliament are the Constitution (Status of Magistrates) (Amendment) Bill 2014, Constitutional Offices (terms and Conditions of Service) (Judicial Reform) (Amendment) Bill 2014, the 2014 Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2014, Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2014, Mines and Minerals (Amendment) Bill 2014,Lands and Titles (Amendment) Bill 2014 and the Political Parties Integrity Bill 2014.
Debate on the 2014 Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2014 is expected today.
