PRESS RELEASE – “Know you laws” is a production of the Press Office of the Royal St Lucia Police Force.
Did You Know ?
ANONYMITY OF COMPLAINANT AND ACCUSED
(Section 138 of the Criminal Code of Saint Lucia 2008)
(1) After a person is charged with an offence under this Sub-Part (Sexual Offences) , any matter that is likely to lead members of the public to identify a person as the complainant or as the accused in relation to that charge shall not be published in a written publication or be broadcast in this State except—
(a) if, on the application of the complainant or the accused, the Court directs that the effect of the restriction is to impose a substantial and unreasonable restriction on the reporting of proceedings and that it is in the public interest to remove the restriction in respect of the applicant; or
(b) in the case of the accused, after the person has been tried and convicted of the offence.
(2) A person who publishes or broadcasts any matter in contravention of subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine of $50,000 and to imprisonment for 3 years.
(3) The person referred to in subsection (2) is in the case of—
(a) a publication in a newspaper or periodical, any proprietor, editor or publisher of the newspaper or periodical;
(b) any other publication, the person who published;
(c) a broadcast by a body corporate which transmits or provides the programme in which the broadcast is made,the person having functions in relation to the programme corresponding to those of an editor or publisher of a newspaper.
(4) In subsection (1)—
“Accused” means—
(a) a person named in an information alleging that the person has committed the offence;
(b) a person who appears before the Court charged with the offence;
“Complainant” in relation to a person accused of an offence includes the person against whom the offence is alleged to have been committed.
This has been “Know Your Laws”. We at the Royal Saint Lucia Police force encourage the citizenry to read and study the laws which governs our society. Never forget that knowledge is power.
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