The first initiative taken by the newly-appointed Minister of Justice, Chris Said is directed at the creation of a Drug Court. For this purpose, he has embarked on structural alterations within the court building in order to create a new hall.
In this sphere of criminal justice, we must strive to find equilibrium- Josè Herrera
The idea of assigning drug cases to a specialised court is not a new one. The subject has been topical for quite some time. It must, however, be pointed out that the establishment of such a court should not merely imply the segregation of such cases from other ordinary cases. What is of paramount importance is to revamp thoroughly our drug legislation, which has evolved erratically over the past few decades.
When we talk about a specialised Drug Court, what we definitely mean is the taking of a different approach with regard to drug dependents. The idea should be to empower such a court sufficiently in order to allow it to assist such persons overcome their dependence and fully reintegrate into society. Unfortunately, to date, such suspects are considered under our law as mere criminals and not as victims themselves, desperately needing help.
Our law in this respect is far too rigid. For example, an urgent amendment to drug laws is that regarding the cultivation of cannabis. In this regard, there seems to be a disparity between our law and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 1988.
This convention stipulates that the states that sign up must legislate in order to cater for the offence of the cultivation of cannabis for one’s personal use. On the contrary, according to our law, all forms of cultivation are considered cases of drug trafficking and, therefore, where a custodial sentence is compulsory.
As I have had occasion to state, the government must change the law, bringing it in conformity with this convention, which was ratified by this country in 1996.
I am willing to agree with what is being proposed in the recent Bill, aiming at amending various aspects of the criminal law. A radical approach is being proposed for the very first time. First-time offenders found in possession of cannabis could now be exempt from prosecution at the discretion of the Attorney General. However, I am hesitant to concur with the idea that this authority should vest with this public official.
Furthermore, it is being questioned why this provision of law will be made to apply merely to cannabis and not to other light drugs, such as khat.
Though I am contrary to the idea of depenalising the possession of certain types of drugs, I am in favour of an open discussion regarding the rescheduling of certain drugs. This would imply a different approach in the quantum of punishment, an attitude that already seems to be taken by certain members of the judiciary.
Drug legislation should further be debated where this prohibits in all circumstances our courts from meting out alternative punishments in cases of aggravated possession of drugs and trafficking. Even here there may be extenuating and exceptional circumstances that might merit the awarding of a non-custodial punishment such as in the case of very young people who would have committed such an offence many years before and who would themselves have been dependent on drugs.
The wide discretionary power of the Attorney General, who is to decide whether a person accused under drug laws should be tried summarily before the Magistrates’ Court or before the Criminal Court, also deserves to be reassessed. The consequences of such decisions are considerable due to the great incongruity in the punishment to be awarded. At times, such decisions are subject to criticism and appear far from transparent.
In the light of all this, it must be stated that a new direction in the way justice is meted out in such cases is merited. Therefore, the introduction of a Drug Court will be more than welcome.
In this sphere of criminal justice, we must strive to find equilibrium. On the one hand we must assure a strong legal regime that would act as a deterrent and deal severely with those who traffic drugs simply for economic motivations and who are recklessly destroying our youth and families.
On the other hand, we must also be capable of taking a far more humane attitude towards drug dependents and petty offenders. These should be given the necessary help and back up to overcome their dependencies, for their own good and that of society at large.
Dr Herrera is shadow minister for justice.