Last week marks another milestone for two Constitutional institutions, the Office of the Ombudsman Office and the Public Prosecutor.
On Wednesday 15th of April 2021 the Public Prosecutor, Mr. Josaia Naigalevu, formally presented the Instrument of Appointment of the Ombudsman’s Officer, First Principal Legal Counsel, Mr. Eric Csiba authorizing him to appear in both the Magistrates Court and the Supreme Court. The Instrument of Appointment was handed to the Ombudsman, Mr. Hamlison Bulu.
Mr. Csiba holds a Bachelor of Law (degree) from the University of Papua New Guinea, a Post Graduate Diploma in Law Practice and a Post Graduate Diploma in Professional Legislative Drafting. He is a Barrister and Solicitor by virtue of his Unconditional Admission before the Supreme Court of Vanuatu with over 20 years’ experience in Legal Advocacy.
This appointment will ensure offences committed during the course of Ombudsman Investigations are prosecuted in a timely manner and will also enable the Ombudsman to prosecute Leadership Code Breaches and Offences in the Supreme Court of Vanuatu.
This is an achievement for both the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Ombudsman’s Office, as the delegation of prosecutorial powers by the Public Prosecutor will ensure Leaders and all those who are investigated by the Ombudsman Office are held accountable for their actions in a timely manner.
During the handing over ceremony the Public Prosecutor and the Ombudsman expressed their desire to have an MOU as soon as possible to provide some guidelines on how they can cooperate better in the future.
An MOU was signed by the Ombudsman with the Vanuatu Police Force in mid-2019 and another MOU was also signed with the Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit earlier this year as a way forward to strengthen its capacity to perform its functions better with its limited resources to ensure corruption is kept at its lowest level as possible within the country.
The Ombudsman plans also to have MOU’s in place with other Law Enforcement agencies in future to give effect to its functions in accordance with Article of 62 of the Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu, section 10 and 11 of the Ombudsman Act and section 34 of the Leadership Code Act.
