Senate approves MOCA Bill
Published:Friday | June 8, 2018 | 4:29 PM
Members of the Upper House today approved the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) Bill with 77 amendments.
The new law gives officers of the anti-corruption agency the powers of arrest.
In March, the Senate suspended debate on the bill to allow lawmakers additional time to review the ruling of the Court of Appeal, which handed down a judgement that the Independent Commission of Investigations did not have the power to arrest or prosecute.
Legislators in the Upper House sought more time to determine whether the court ruling had any implications for the MOCA Bill.
The Seventh Schedule of the Bill states that “an officer of the agency may arrest without a warrant any person found committing or whom he has reasonable cause to suspect is about to commit a serious crime”.
At the same time, an officer of MOCA may arrest, with a warrant obtained from a Judge of a Parish Court, any person to which he has reasonable cause to suspect has committed a serious crime.
The Bill will be sent to the House of Representatives where lawmakers in that chamber are expected to review and approve the amendments.
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