Public Prosecutors must build fairer Justice system

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Public Prosecutors must build fairer Justice system

10:47 CAT | 29 May 2019

Photo: O País

Mozambican Attorney-General Beatriz Buchili on Tuesday reaffirmed the commitment of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to strengthen its actions to control legality and defend human rights, as part of the construction of a fairer justice system that is closer to citizens.

Speaking in Maputo, at the opening of a session of the Coordinating Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Buchili said that priority lines of action should include inspecting the country’s prisons, ensuring the use against offenders of alternatives to prison terms, and ensuring the conditions for speedier handling of cases.

“We reiterate our commitment to an ever fairer and more efficient system of justice”, she declared, “respecting the constitutional values of a democratic state under the rule of law”.

Buchili added that, in the context of controlling legality and respecting human rights, the Public Prosecutor’s Office will undertake institutional capacity building to ensure that it has the necessarily robust approach to all the areas which it must cover under the Mozambican constitution and laws.

These efforts will also include fighting against illegal detentions, ensuring compliance with the deadlines for preventive detention, and all other procedural deadlines, in order to guarantee the right of access to justice. She expected cooperation in this from all the other key actors in the justice system.

As for corruption, she admitted that preventing and fighting this scourge are major challenges for the Public Prosecutor’s Office. She called for the involvement of all segments of society in promoting the values of integrity in the management of public assets.

“We must not earn a reputation as a corrupt society”, warned Buchili, “and so we must demonstrate, through concrete acts, our repugnance at this behaviour”.

More than ever, she added, ensuring the credibility of the justice system as an instrument that promotes human rights is linked to its performance in fighting the crimes of corruption against the public realm, which deprive citizens of their fundamental rights to education, health and justice.

Outgoing Maputo City Chief Attorney Amelia Munguambe warned that the existing legal instruments for the fight against corruption are insufficient, because they do not allow for the recovery of assets which criminals have stolen from the state.

“The legal framework does not allow the total return of assets”, she said, “and this leads criminals to enjoy publicly the fruits of their crimes. This shakes the belief of society in the effectiveness of the Public Prosecutor’s Office”.

Source: AIM