THE Senate yesterday completed its deliberations on the long-delayed Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) Bill.

Debate on the Bill was suddenly stalled in the Senate in March, after the Appeal Court’s judgement against the right of Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) to arrest people, including members of the security forces.

The Appeal Court had ruled that: “The Independent Commission of Investigations is not empowered by section 20 of the Act, statute or common law to arrest, charge or prosecute any person for any criminal offence; section 20 of the Act does not empower the 1st respondent (INDECOM commissioner) or any of his investigative staff to arrest, charge or prosecute any person for any criminal offence”.

It also added that the Act does not abrogate the common law right possessed by INDECOM Commissioner Terrence Williams, and each member of his investigative staff, in their respective private capacities to initiate a private prosecution against any person for any criminal offence under section 33 of the Act.

The court’s decision forced the Government to reflect on the Bill, which was being debated, on March 9. Then minister of state in the Ministry of National Security Senator Pearnel Charles Jr, who piloted the Bill, requested that Senate president Senator Thomas Tavares-Finson suspend the debate to allow the ministry to look at the implications of the court’s ruling on the MOCA Act.

Yesterday, Senator Charles informed the Senate that the ministry had taken the time to evaluate the issues, and had made it possible for him to return to the Senate with a new list of amendments, in response to both the court’s ruling and comments which had been made during the debate by members on both sides.

“I am certain we should have no difficulty today. I believe that we will move smoothly through [the rest of] the committee stage, particularly because you will see a list of amendments that address several of the fundamental issues that have been raised,” Charles said.

The committee then resumed its review of the Bill, starting at clause 12 where it had stopped in March.

But, although discussions within the committee went generally smoothly through most of the over-two hours of deliberations, things came close to getting out of hand on two occasions when Government member, Senator Charles Sinclair used recent allegations of corrupt use of funds at the Manchester Municipal Corporation to illustrate his questions seeking clarification on amendments.

On both occasions, Sinclair was countered by Opposition member Senator Lambert Brown, who sought the president’s support to have the Manchester Municipal Corporation issue ruled as sub judice. Senator Tavares-Finson was able to keep things under control until the amended Bill was eventually approved.

The Bill will now go back to the House of Representatives for approval of the new amendments.

The Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency was formed in August 2014, and brought together the Anti-Corruption Branch and the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Task Force.

It is now an elite agency focusing on tackling corruption in the public sector and bringing high-value criminal targets to justice. This agency has continued to develop over time and is becoming increasingly independent. It is structured around a joint-staff concept, working with international partners and bringing to bear the country’s best intelligence assets, investigators and prosecutors.

The goal of the agency is to tackle serious organised crime and to stamp out corruption in Jamaica.