Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697639093233.pdf (Bahamas)
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL REPORT CHAPTER 1 Foreword by the Attorney-General Review by the Permanent Secretary Message from the Director of Legal Affairs Message from the Director of Public Prosecution Message from the Registrar General CHAPTER 2: MINISTERIAL OVERVIEW Role and Functions of the Attorney-General’s Office The Attorney-General Department of Public Prosecutions Department of Legal Affairs Civil Chambers Civil Litigation International Legal Cooperation Unit Legislative Drafting Law Reform and Revision Commission Registrar General’s Department Office of the Attorney-General Organizational Chart CHAPTER 3: REPORT ON PERFORMANCE Strategic Priority 1 Swift Justice The Court Reporting Unit Transforming Jury Administration Encouraging Justice System Collaboration Through Technology: Integrated Justice System Tackling the Backlog through Case Management Strengthening The Bail System Establishing Office of the Public Defender The Witness Care Unit Strategic Priority 2 Office of the Attorney-General in the 21st Century Online Notary Application System Justices of the Peace Companies E-Service Initiative Marriage Officers Initiative Maritime Marriages Digital Registry Certified Copies in the Family Islands Intellectual Property Strategic Priority 3 Department of Legal Affairs: Advocating on Behalf of Bahamians The Attorney-General Addresses the Universal Periodic Review and United Nations Human Rights Meeting Defending Immigration Policy Before The IACHR MESICIC Country Report Adopted 1 2 4 6 8 10 11 12 12
Country Report Adopted Implementing the Common Reporting Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Information Chairing the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force Parliamentary Enactments: Legislation 2014-2016 Laws On-Line CHAPTER 4: EXTERNAL SCRUTINY Expert Reports Report on Assessment of Criminal Justice Initiatives in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas: Interim Report Report on the Creation of The Office of the Public Defender in The Bahamas Pilot Project for A Swift Justice System in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Performance Technical Cooperation: Expert Reports Pilot Project for A Swift Justice System in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Performance Technical Cooperation: Final Performance Assessment Modernizing the Intellectual Property Office of The Bahamas: Strategy Report Key Judicial Decisions 4.2.
1 R.B.

(a juvenile) v. Attorney-General [SCCrimApp No.
205] CHAPTER 5: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Financial Performance The Citizen Security and Justice Loan Programme CHAPTER 6: HUMAN RESOURCES Learning and Development Training Courses 2014 to 2016 Legal Officers Attending Training Locally and Abroad Employment Programmes Diversity Staff Developments In Memoriam CHAPTER 7: COURTESY CALLS Courtesy Calls in 2014 Courtesy Calls in 2015 Courtesy Calls in 2016 Courtesy Calls in 2017 CHAPTER 8: STAFF PHOTOS CHAPTER 9: APPENDICES Appendix A: Year 2012 Appendix B: Year 2013 Appendix C: Year 2014 Appendix D: Year 2015 Appendix E: Year Foreword by the Attorney-General Review by the Permanent Secretary Message from the Director of Public Prosecution Message from the Registrar General Message form the Director of Legal Affairs 2 4 6 8 10 FOREWORD BY THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL In order to foster the kind of change that we believed was needed, we set out to focus on three strategic priorities which would positively affect the lives of Bahamians across our archipelago.
These priorities included: Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the justice system.

Enhancing essential government services and strengthening the public registries.

Attorney-General Providing the best legal services to the people and the Government of The Bahamas.
When I took the post of Attorney-General in 2012, those indicators which existed seemed to highlight the fact that our justice system was not living up to the expectations of the Bahamian people and the Registrar General’s Office was not keeping up with the rapidly changing world around us.

While there is still more work to do, we have made good progress in pursuing these strategic priorities, and real change has meant real benefits for Bahamians.
Compared to 2012, we are bringing those accused of a crime to trial faster and are more likely to secure a conviction, ensuring that our communities are safer.

Our Witness Care Unit manages and supports victims and witness throughout the course of a trial.

Justice system stakeholders are collaborating in new ways and convening a jury will become easier in 2017, helping to reduce trial delays.
We are closer to eliminating the backlog of criminal cases than we ever have been before and with the establishment of the Office the Public Defender, defendants of limited means can be assured equal access to justice.

The Office of the Public Defender also represents cost savings for the public purse and less delays in trials.
2 Office of the Attorney-General Report In the Registrar General’s Department we have made it easier for entrepreneurs to incorporate companies and pay fees through our e-Services online platform.

Couples who are in search of a Marriage Officer in our jurisdiction, as well as those who are in need of a Justice of the Peace, can now find a regularly updated ist of both online.

Each of these accomplishments exemplifies the focus we have placed on making communities safer and life easier for Bahamians.
None of these accomplishments would be possible without the hard work and dedication of the staff at the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs, including the Registrar General’s Department.

It is only through their persistent pursuit of excellence that we have made these remarkable improvements.

We have worked hard to lay the foundation for change.
In the year ahead, we will continue to build on our three strategic priorities through deeper collaboration with justice system stakeholders.

This is why we are working to expand the Integrated Justice System to all justice system stakeholders, to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.

The Magistrates’ Court is where most Bahamians first encounter their justice system so we will focus on improving operations there.
It is also important that we establish a new family court and drug rehabilitation court, along with expedited processes to deal with juvenile matters and sexual offences.

We will also finalize transformation of the jury management system and provide training, management support and resources for the Court Reporting Unit.

This will include initiating training in digital transcription for students at the Salvation Army’s Erin H. Gilmour School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
This will increase efficiency in the Magistrates’ Court and give differently-abled students a chance for training and employment.

While we should be proud of the progress we have made toward full justice system reform we cannot be truly satisfied that we are moving in the right direction until we can better capture the data we need to tell a fuller story of how the justice system is operating.
This also includes identifying a comprehensive set of key performance indicators that can be rigorously monitored and evaluated to track the performance of the justice system.

Finally, we are looking forward to the full implementation of the new Bail Management System, which will use biometrics to keep track of those accused persons who are on conditional bail.
I would like to thank Permanent Secretary Marco Rolle, Director of Legal Affairs Antoinette Bonamy and Director of Public Prosecutions Garvin Gaskins for their dedication and focus.

I would also like to acknowledge my support staff Anna Hall, Judy Mae Brice and George Sweeting.

My journey as Attorney-General has been enriched by our time together.
It has been an honor to serve as Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs and I am confident that we will realize our objectives, thanks to the passion, skill and professionalism of our staff.

Sen. Hon.

Z. C. Allyson Maynard-Gibson, QC Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs 3 Office of the Attorney-General Report REVIEW BY THE PERMANENT SECRETARY The Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs is pleased to present the 2014-2017 Attorney-General’s Report.
This report explains the portfolio and structure of this Ministry, reviews its accomplishments in relation to the strategic priorities that have been identified and gives an overview in terms of our operations, especially as it relates to human resources.
L–R: Under Secretary Cecilia Strachan, Permanent Secretary Marco Rolle, Deputy Permenant Secretary Emma Foulkes 4 Office of the Attorney-General Report Simultaneously, the modernization efforts in the Registrar General’s Department has led to increased revenue and efficiency.

We continue to work closely with the private sector to transform processes in this department and over the next year we expect significant improvements in a number of areas, including the Intellectual Property Registry.
We have engaged in robust hiring to ensure the necessary human resources are in place to support these changes and we have also provided a number of training opportunities to support staff in their growth and development.

While I only joined this Ministry some eight months ago, I can attest that the passion and professionalism of the staff, under the leadership of the Attorney-General, has been truly singular.
As we look forward to the new year, I can assure the public that the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs will continue to protect the true interests of the Bahamian people.
Marco Rolle Permanent Secretary Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs As you will read, this Ministry is responsible for a broad range of government activities and services— from supporting the legislative agenda of the government to working closely with the private sector to foster a business environment that supports entrepreneurship.

We have worked diligently to support the Attorney-General in her duty as Principal Law Officer of the Government.
There is no doubt that the public is more familiar with the prosecutorial work of this Ministry, however, it is the Department of Legal Affairs that is responsible for advising the Cabinet, other government ministries, statutory bodies and public corporations.

Our Legislative Drafting Department and the Law Reform and Revision Committee have been exceptional—producing forward looking, quality legislation at high international standards.
When considering the volume of legislation passed, this term’s legislative session has been more intensive than any other previous year.

Civil Chambers has also expeditiously dealt with advising on a steady stream of heads of agreements, the government initiatives, and most notably the resolution of the Baha Mar sale.

We have also renewed our focus on improving the efficiency of the criminal court system and the departments that support its operation.
This work has been and will continue to be supported by the Inter-American Development Bank Citizen Security and Justice Programme, which has allocated $5.5 million for the strengthening of the justice system.
5 Office of the Attorney-General Report MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF LEGAL AFFAIRS Unlike the work in the Department of Public Prosecutions or at the Registrar General’s Department, it is difficult to package the work of the Department of Legal Affairs in neat year-long timetables or visual representations.

We can work across borders, government ministries and sometimes over a number of years on a single piece of work.
We have spent the last three years forging closer relationships with our international partners and improving efficiency in our communications with our partners.

This has yielded good feedback from our counterparts abroad and has led to an increase in prosecutions because of closer international cooperation.
DLA Secretaries L–R: Glendamae Black-Cartwright, Denise Saunders, Samantha Collie 6 Office of the Attorney-General Report In other instances, our department has moved in strategic ways to protect the interests of the Bahamian people.

For example, The Bahamas has committed to the OECD’s 2018 date for implementation of the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”).

Instead of signing on to the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, we have opted to take a bilateral approach.
This has given us a competitive advantage, allowing us to secure agreements with those jurisdictions that have the greatest value to our financial services industry and to tailor those agreements as each Competent Authority sees fit.

Developments like the example of the CRS, along with the blistering 2016 legislative session, has shown the resilience, talent and team spirit that characterizes the staff in the Department of Legal Affairs.
The Bahamian people can rest assured that whether here at home or anywhere in the world, we are working assiduously for their benefit.

Antoinette Bonamy Director of Legal Affairs 7 Office of the Attorney-General Report MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTION The end of 2016 marked a year since my confirmation as Director of Public Prosecutions in the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs.
As years go, it has been one full of growth, accomplishments and the challenge of creating genuine change.

Genuine change does not happen overnight but it is the result of continuous effort.

For the Department of Public Prosecutions, this effort has been one of deeper collaboration with a cross-section of justice system stakeholders.

I can say that the professionalism of the prosecutorial team, as well as our rapport with the public has improved over time.
I am especially proud of our collaboration with the Royal Bahamas Police Force and others who help to support this department Proactive consultation before an accused person is charged and closer, more incisive assessments of each serious case has yielded greater efficiency and effectiveness for our team.

Director of Public Prosecution 8 Office of the Attorney-General Report I have also been inspired by our cooperation with counsel and attorneys at the Criminal Defence Bar.
The Public Bar and Criminal Defence Bar now have a standing meeting which is used to develop innovative strategies to efficiently move trials forward.

We are mutually receptive and committed to the narrowing of the issues of contention.

As prosecutors, our relationship with the defence has traditionally been an adversarial one (as is inherent in the trial process); but together we are working towards positively adjusting the traditional tone of that relationship.
In real terms, our cooperation reduces the time of trials—freeing upresources within the criminal justice system, saving taxpayer dollars, saving precious judicial time and ensuring that justice is meted out fully, fairly and in a reasonable amount of time.

As you will read, these important changes, along with systemic reforms and infrastructural investments, have resulted in a number of measurable improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of this Office’s prosecutorial efforts.
I am thankful to the Attorney-General for this opportunity and I am happy to work side-by-side with my colleagues in the leadership of this ministry.

In part, these accomplishments would not be possible without the unrelenting work of the dedicated prosecutors and administrative staff with whom I have the privilege of advocating with, most significantly, on behalf of the people of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Garvin Gaskin Director of Public Prosecutions 9 Office of the Attorney-General Report MESSAGE FROM THE REGISTRAR GENERAL To complement our e-Services Platform the Registrar General’s Department also introduced a “Help Desk” Section to assist external and walk-in clients to navigate the e-Services Platform and with any other matters or concerns that may arise during their e-Services experience.
We also established a Compliance Unit whose responsibility is to ensure that all documents registered within the Registry are in compliance with all government Acts and Regulations.

The Registrar General’s Department hired ten (10) new staff members who have injected energy, purpose and zeal into our workforce resulting in a positive effect on the morale of the Department’s staff.
Confirmed fiscal figures prove a substantial growth in revenue despite the unforeseen economic and environmental challenges that The Bahamas endured.

Our findings conclude that the Registrar General’s Department profits increased by 10 percent in comparison to the Fiscal Year 2015 as it relates to our expenditure.

Concluding, the 2016 Fiscal Year with resounding achievements and milestones has given us much momentum to successfully accomplish set goals and objectives for 2017.
I would like to thank the Attorney- General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Allyson Maynard- Gibson, for giving me the opportunity to lead the Registrar General’s Department into the 21st century.

I am also thankful for the support of the Permanent Secretary, Marco Rolle, and my team at the Registrar General’s Department.

Registrar General The Registrar General’s Department is committed to our mission in operating effectively and efficiently, while providing prompt and efficient service.
Our 2016 Fiscal Year was an active and productive year for the Department and the goal of strengthening our internal organizational structure, whilst meeting our customer needs was achieved.

We started the year 2016 with the launch of our e-Services Business Registration Platform.

Due to this implementation we have realized seamless business incorporation procedures, boosts in the Department’s deliverables and improved document record keeping.
The new system has also resulted in the alleviation of the high volumes of incoming customers, allowing our employees more time to complete daily tasks, thus increasing productivity.

We forecast the launch of other stages of the e-Services Platform in 2017, which will enhance other services offered within the Registrar General’s Department.
Deirdre Maycock Registrar General 10 Office of the Attorney-General Report MINISTERIAL OVERVIEW Role and Functions of the Attorney-General’s Office 12 The Attorney-General Department of Public Prosecutions Department of Legal Affairs Civil Chambers Civil Litigation International Legal Cooperation Unit Legislative Drafting Law Reform and Revision Commission Registrar General’s Department Organizational Chart 14 Office of the Attorney-General Report ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S OFFICE The Attorney-General Article 72 of the Constitution mandates that the Attorney General must be a member of Cabinet and Article 78 of the Constitution sets out the functions of the Attorney General.
As Principal Law Officer of the Crown, the Attorney- General performs a number of functions, including legal adviser to the government, superintending Minister with responsibility for legal affairs, guardian of the public interest, and functions in relation to Parliament and the legal profession.

Additionally, the Attorney-General is recognized as titular head of the Bar.

Vision Statement To be the preeminent law chambers of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Mission Statement To promote justice in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas through the delivery of comprehensive and efficient legal services to the government.
Collectively, the Attorney-General’s portfolio encompasses a large range of responsibilities including: ❚ Legal Adviser to the Government ❚ Relations with the Judiciary ❚ Notaries Public ❚ Criminal Prosecutions ❚ International Legal Cooperation ❚ Inquiries ❚ Mutual Legal Assistance ❚ Law Reform and Revision ❚ Legal Education ❚ Relations with the ❚ Coroners ❚ ❚ ❚ Justices of the Peace Law Reports Legal Aid ❚ Relations with the Magistracy ❚ Relations with the Industrial Relations Tribunal Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority ❚ Utilities Appeal Tribunal Act ❚ Registration of Documents ❚ Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths Companies ❚ Registration of Commission Merchants ❚ Intellectual Property Rights 12 Office of the Attorney-General Report Beyond these functions, the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs (OAG) is comprised of four separate divisions: ❚ Department of Public Prosecutions ❚ Department of Legal Affairs ❚ Law Reform and Revision Commission that are instituted by or against the government in other jurisdictions.
This Unit is also expected to advise in respect of bilateral and multilateral treaty obligations related to the Organization of American States, the United Nations and other international organisations of which The Bahamas is a member.
❚ Registrar General’s Department Legislative Drafting Department of Public Prosecutions The Department of Public Prosecutions (“DPP”) is the division of the OAG that has been authorized by the Attorney-General to institute, prosecute or cease criminal proceedings against any person who is alleged to have committed a criminal offense.

The DPP is responsible for the prosecution of all criminal matters before the Supreme Court and the general oversight of magisterial prosecutions.
In 2017, the DPP will assume responsibility for prosecution in the Magistrates Court of serious matters such as drug and gun offences and trafficking in persons.

Department of Legal Affairs The Department of Legal Affairs is organized into four (4) sections.

Civil Chambers The Civil Chambers section is responsible for providing advice to the government, its ministries and statutory corporations.

It vets and prepares conveyances, leases, contracts and other agreements on behalf of the government.
Civil Litigation Civil Litigation Section is primarily responsible for representing the government and statutory corporations in civil proceedings instituted by or against the government.

The Legislative Drafting Section is primarily responsible for drafting principal legislation for Parliament and subsidiary legislation for Ministries, Departments and Quasi-Agencies.

This section also drafts opinions on the interpretation of laws for the various government ministries and other public bodies.
Law Reform and Revision Commission The general function of the Commission as regards law revision is to keep under review the laws of The Bahamas with a view to modernizing their systematic development and reform.
Under the Law Reform and Commission Act, the Commission is required to: ❚ Prepare a revised edition of the laws, once every five (5) years; ❚ Prepare annual updates of the loose leaf edition of the laws showing what amendments and new laws have been enacted since the production of a revised edition, and; ❚ Arrange for the printing and publication of the revised edition and the annual updates.
Registrar General’s Department The Registrar General’s Department is tasked with the recording of vital records for the state and its citizens.
This Department is responsible for recording and/or certifying: ❚ Marriages (including Maritime Marriages) ❚ Deeds and Documents International Legal Cooperation Unit ❚ Births and Deaths Registration The principal function of the International Unit is to provide assistance in proceedings pursuant to Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties, pursuant to the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act, and to advise the Government in civil matters ❚ Births, Deaths and Marriage Certification ❚ Intellectual Property ❚ Companies 13 Office of the Attorney-General Report Office of the Attorney-General Organizational Chart Attorney-General Permanent Secretary Under Secretary Department of Public Prosecution International Legal Cooperation Unit Department of Legal Affairs Law Reform Commision Registrar General’s Department Freeport Acting Deputy Registrar Civil Chambers Deeds and Documents Civil Litigation Copyright Legislative Drafting Marriages Deeds and Documents MIS Section Central Registry 14 Office of the Attorney-General Report REPORT ON PERFORMANCE Strategic Priority 1: Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the justice system 16 Swift Justice Strategic Priority 2: Enhancing essential government services and strengthening the public registries 30 The Office of the Attorney-General in the 21st Century Strategic Priority 3: Providing the best legal services to the people and Government of The Bahamas 38 Department of Legal Affairs: Advocating on Behalf of Bahamians The Attorney-General Addresses the Universal
 Periodic Review and United Nations Human Rights Meeting Defending Immigration Policy Before The IACHR MESICIC Country Report Adopted Implementing the Common Reporting Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Information Chairing the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force Legislation 2014-2016 Bahamas Laws On-Line Office of the Attorney-General Report STRATEGIC PRIORITY 1 Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the justice system: Swift Justice Swift Justice In 2012, the Attorney-General identified four “escape routes” that prevented matters coming to trial in a timely manner: ❚ Unavailability of transcripts ❚ Inability to impanel juries ❚ Calendaring conflicts in the Supreme Court ❚ Lack of defence counsel External consultants from the Commonwealth Secretariat (“COMSEC”) and the Inter-American Development Bank (“IDB”) agreed that a concurrent targeting of these 4 escape routes could significantly impact the administration of justice.
In fact, of the 43 delayed trials studied to determine the key factors contributing to the problem, it was ascertained that 47% did not proceed because of the inability to empanel a jury; 21% did not proceed because the virtual complainant refused to pursue the matter; 16% did not proceed because defence counsel was not available to appear in court; and another 16% did not proceed because the defendant was unable to secure counsel.
These delays clog the system and deny justice to victims, the families of victims and accused persons.

There is a Constitutional mandate that matters should be tried in a reasonable period of time and the pain that judicial delays causes victims cannot be ignored.

The Swift Justice Initiative has been the lens through which the strategic, coordinated and collaborative effort of reforming the justice system has been focused.
By concurrently targeting each of these escape routes— supported by greater resources, expert analysis and mechanisms for continuous monitoring and evaluation—the OAG has led the way in transforming the administration of justice in The Bahamas.

In 2012, the OAG also implemented internal systemic improvements in administration, including the monitoring and evaluation of key performance indicators.

Now, strategic decisions are made on the basis of data rather than anecdotal information.
Further, the public has been kept informed by weekly updates on the OAG website of trials, VBIs, bails, arraignments and Court of Appeal appearances.
16 Office of the Attorney-General Report Average Time in Days To Serve VBI: 2012–2016 Pre Oct 2012 Oct–Apr 2013 344 198 Apr 2013–2014 127 Dec 2014 Dec 2015 Dec 2016 78 78 77 Conviction Rates: 2012–2016 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 31% 54% 54% 63% 66% 17 Office of the Attorney-General Report The data reveals: ❚ In 2015, 232 matters were disposed before the Supreme Court.

This was 114 more cases than in 2012 when the Government took office.
❚ There has been a doubling in the rate of conviction compared to 2012, from 31% to 67% in 2016.

And, the conviction rate for murder was 72%.

❚ The time for presentation of a Voluntary Bill of Indictment has gone down from 344 days in 2012 to 68 days in 2016.

❚ 7 murder matters were concluded within 1 year of charge in 2015; in 2012, no murder trials were concluded this quickly.

Also, 40 matters were resolved in the same year as the accused was charged.
❚ Since 2015 there has been a decrease in the number of applications for bail.

The Government also made significant investment in infrastructure, systems and training: ❚ There are now ten (10) criminal courts operating in The Bahamas Supreme Court.

This represents an increase from the six (6) courts previously in operation in 2012.
❚ Justice system stakeholders are collaborating in new ways through the Swift Justice Team (OAG, Police, Corrections officers, PHA, and Social Services) which meets weekly to effectively communicate on any materials or actions needed to be taken to meet the prosecutorial needs of the Crown.

❚ A Backlog Review Task Force was established to closely review all outstanding cases and make determinations on how they should proceed.
Since 2013, the OAG has made more progress on tackling the backlog of criminal cases than at any time before in the last two decades.

❚ The Office of the Public Defender was established to reduce delays caused by the inability of defendants to secure counsel.

The Office of the Public Defender also ensures defendants of limited means can be assured equal access to justice, while representing cost savings for the public purse by decreasing a reliance on the Crown Brief system.
❚ Because of new software commissioned by the Government, convening a jury should become easier in 2017, helping to reduce trial delays.

❚ The Court Reporting System has been revamped ❚ All reporters have a career path ❚ All reporters have new equipment 18 ❚ All reporters should daily download their transcripts to the electronic court file rather than CDs and jump drives ❚ All courts are also equipped with internet and video conferencing capacity.
❚ The number of courts at The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (“BDOCS”) has been increased from one (1) to four (4) and three (3) soundproof booths have been installed so that accused persons may speak to their lawyers as if they were present at a court in Bank Lane.

This means that all matters up to trial can be dealt with from the courts at BDOCS.

Now the only people being brought down to the court every day from BDOCS ought to be the persons actually participating in a trial.
Adherence to this request will dramatically decrease the horrific experience to motorists of the daily trek to and from BDOCS.

❚ Witnesses out of the jurisdiction or in a Family Island now routinely give evidence by video conference– saving money and eliminating delays.

❚ Moving away from the use of paper documents and photographs, several courts have already been equipped with the capacity to digitally project and navigate documents.
❚ Through training and improved resources, the Case Management Unit has been strengthened to more effectively assist in the preparation of all criminal matters.

❚ The Court Liaison section of the Case Management Unit has implemented new systems to more effectively liaise with the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

❚ The Witness Care division of case management operates under a new system of keeping in regular contact with witnesses and has a defined Witness Care Road Map.
❚ ❚ Increased protections are in place for witnesses through new witness protection and witness anonymity legislation and policies.

Failure to honour bail conditions has been made a strict liability criminal offence.

❚ A system of tracking persons on bail is being implemented.

❚ In collaboration with the Defence Bar Plea Bargaining Guidelines and Sentencing Guidelines have been promulgated.
Office of the Attorney-General Report ❚ Regular meetings between Prosecution and Defence Bar have been established.

❚ The Defence Bar is routinely invited to participate in Prosecution training days.

❚ The OAG Calendar and results are posted online weekly so that persons may track VBIs, Arraignments, Bails and Trials.

Matters Resolved: 2012–2016 WHY ARE VBI’S IMPORTANT?

The use of voluntary bills of indictments (VBIs) has changed the way our justice system operates in The Bahamas.
The practice of using VBIs started in 2006, when Swift Justice was first initiated by Attorney-General Allyson Maynard-Gibson.

VBIs have: ❚ ●Reduced the time it takes to ❚ ●Ensured better cooperation ❚ ●Provided for a more bring an accused person to between the police and critical assessment of trial, eliminating the lengthy prosecutors, and; preliminary inquiry process; the evidence and more efficient prosecution.
19 Office of the Attorney-General Report The Court Reporting Unit The Court Reporting Unit (“CRU”) plays an important role in the way trials take their course.

Reducing the time it takes to provide transcripts is one way to prevent the delaying of trials.

Previously, the Unit had two sections—one private and the other public—with different levels of compensation.

Since then the CRU has been restructured as a single team under one Director, with a clear line of reporting and a path for career advancement.
In 2012, Court Reporters kept the records from matters on discs and jump drives for which they were personally responsible.

Several important steps were taken to revamp the CRU, including reorganization, fully equipping and providing the facility whereby data is to be downloaded daily to the relevant case file, so that there can be uninterrupted work flow.
For example, where a court reporter may be ill or confronted by family or personal matters, excessive delays would be eliminated by accessing the electronic file and assigning another reporter to complete the transcript.

This is significantly different from 2012, where, when confronted with a delay, the Director of Court Reporting would have to manually ascertain which Court Reporter(s) worked on the matter then obtain their CDs or jump drives.
Another important step in improving the efficiency of the CRU was the piloting of the ‘For The Record’ (“FTR”) digital audio system in four new courtrooms.

It has been decided to concentrate digital recording in the first instance in Magistrates Courts throughout The Bahamas.

Significant progress has been made in the plan to utilize the Salvation Army’s Erin H. Gilmour School for the Blind and Visually Impaired for transcription of the digital files.
Currently, ‘Real-time Reporting’ software is also being piloted by court reporters on a limited basis.

The system enables real time transcription which digitally projects the proceedings in the courtroom, also making production of the final transcript much less time-consuming.
While these efforts have been supported primarily by the Inter-American Development Bank (“IDB”), the U.S. State Courts, in partnership with the National Center for State Courts, has also agreed to provide additional digital audio recording units for the purposes of equipping the Magistrate’s Court.

Training for a specialized information technology unit for the Courts will also be an important part of this roll-out.
The CRU has also recently upgraded its court transcript storage facility to Sharepoint—a browser-based collaboration and document management platform.

This content and document management facility allows the Unit to have a centralised, password protected space for storage, retrieval, searching, archiving, tracking, management and reporting of the court transcripts.

It also includes electronic scheduling capabilities.
Some of the benefits are increased employee engagement, the centralising of process management, as well as more efficient means of capturing and sharing information between court reporters.

20 Office of the Attorney-General Report Transforming Jury Administration To solve this ongoing issue of inability to efficiently empanel jurors, the OAG commissioned new jury administration software in 2015, written by a local Bahamian vendor.
This new software relies on an electronic database of potential and active jurors chosen from the current voter register and based on the inclusion criteria dictated by the laws of The Bahamas.

The software randomly selects a series of potential jurors to be empaneled.

The database is to be constantly maintained through updates, additions and deletions to keep it as accurate as possible.
The software’s full implementation is imminent and ten (10) jury clerks have been hired to manage jury empaneling for the criminal courts.

The installation and training is supported by the IDB Citizen Security and Justice Loan Programme (BH-L1033) (“CSJP”).

The utilization of new technology has been supported by legislative changes, as well.
Amendments to the Juries Act in 2014: ❚ Extended the scope of qualified voters; ❚ Provided funding for the travel and living expenses of Family Island jurors called to serve; ❚ Allowed for the Registrar of the Supreme Court to make public the jury list to be published more widely, and; ❚ Reduced the number of peremptory challenges from ten (10) to four (4) in murder and treason cases; or seven (7) in every other trial.
In 2015, another round of amendments to the Juries Act allowed for jurors to be selected every two months and for the electronic process to select a jury panel, opening the door to 21st century methods for managing jury selection.

These changes will dramatically increase efficiency in jury administration and reduce lost trial days due to failure to empanel juries.
21 Office of the Attorney-General Report Encouraging Justice System Collaboration Through Technology: Integrated Justice System Early on collaboration and the elimination of the culture of working in silos was identified as an important factor in the improvement of justice system efficiency.
To this end, the launch of the Integrated Justice System (“IJS”), a comprehensive case management and scheduling system and database, has been an important step in promoting the 3 C’s—communication, collaboration and cooperation.

All new matters are entered into the IJS system and the criminal case backlog has been systematically entered as well.

In 2016, over 1,200 criminal cases have been entered into the IJS database.
The system is being actively used by the Royal Bahamas Police Force (“RBPF”), BDOCS and the OAG—especially by the Case Management Unit for processing all matters.

For the most part, the IJS technical build has been completed, with the possibility of adding tailored plug- ins and add-ons, as well as promoting interoperability with other systems.
A comprehensive roadmap is being considered for continued IJS installation to incorporate other justice system partnersincluding the Court of Appeals, the Public Hospital Authority (“PHA”) and The Ministry of Social Services and Community Development.

This continued expansion of IJS will be funded by the CSJP over the next two years.
OAG executive team tests new video conferencing capabilities 22 Office of the Attorney-General Report Tackling the Backlog through Case Management The historical backlog of criminal cases consists of two (2) distinct kinds of cases—1) criminal cases that had been adjourned sine die (no trial dates have been set) and 2) depositions that were the result of preliminary inquiries.
In 2013, the Supreme Court released a list of one hundred (100) criminal cases that had no dates, triggering a review of files at the OAG.

An additional forty-four (44) cases were discovered along with one hundred and ninety-eight (198) depositions that were the result of preliminary inquiries in the Magistrate’s Court.
These files along with three hundred and seventy seven (377) police files that have no depositions make up what has become known as the historical backlog—cases that have lingered without resolution for more than three (3) years.

Seven hundred and nineteen (719) matters comprised this backlog.

Recognizing the gravity of the situation and given the acceleration in change because of the Swift Justice Initiative, the OAG instituted a comprehensive strategy for the review of the backlog.
A Backlog Review Task Force was established to closely review all outstanding cases and make determinations on how they should proceed.

Prosecutors were identified to advance cases that would move forward to trial and nolle prosequis were entered for cases that could not proceed—if for example the accused died, key witnesses were missing or victims did not wish to proceed.
These nolle prosequis have been entered for matters that have little chance of proceeding successfully, clearing the system of “zombie cases”.

Of the one hundred and forty-four (144) cases that were committed to the Supreme Court without trial dates, nolle prosequis were entered for seventy-one (71), and the other seventy-three (73) will proceed to trial.
The latter are currently under review by the Department of Public Prosecutions to prepare for case management and to locate any additional documents—all to ensure that they are in a state of readiness on the date of the trial.

Virtually all backlog cases—both pending and disposed— have been digitalized and uploaded to the IJS.

WHAT IS A NOLLE PROSEQUI?

A nolle prosequi is the dismissal or termination of prosecution by the Attorney-General.
When entering nolle prosequis, The Department of Public Prosecution makes a recommendation to the Attorney-General who, under Article 78 of the Constitution of The Bahamas, has full discretion to initiate, take over or discontinue any matter at any stage before a judgement is delivered.
When a nolle prosequi is recommended the only reasons are either because of circumstances that affect the state of the evidence—for example if witnesses have recanted their statements or are not cooperating otherwise—or if constitutional issues have arised regarding trials within a reasonable time.

However, as Article 52 of the Criminal Procedure Code makes clear, a nolle does not prevented OAG from pursuing any subsequent proceedings against the accused.
23 Office of the Attorney-General Report Case management team Back Row L–R: Pierre Donald, Lillian Smith, Patrea Gording, Dornisha Morley, Sheniqua Thurston, Charrach Hall-Rolle, Srg.
Audrey Deveaux, Ingreta Carey, Charenda Sawyer-Ambrister, Ophelia Maycock, Antoniko Carroll Front Row L–R: Darlene Taylor, Yvonne Rolle, Cleopatra Christie, Bernis Pinder, Marilyn Thomas The OAG is actively liaising with the Supreme Court to make this a reality by encouraging more robust case management and by changing the “culture ofadjournment”.

Completely eliminating the backlog will likely require the creation of a backlog court to deal specifically with these matters.
There is also the challenge of growing “backup backlog”— cases scheduled as far into the future as 2019.

The number of backup backlog cases is a moving target as it increases practically every day.

Tackling the existing backlog, as well as piloting a new, integrated way of listing cases is the only way to arrest this ever-expanding problem.

This is exactly the strategy of the OAG.

The depositions have since been divided into two groups—those without police files and those with police files.
While missing police files are being located, a thorough review of the depositions with police files has been completed.

Nolle prosequis have been entered in eighty-seven (87) of these depositions and forty-five (45) have been set for trial.

Since 2013, the OAG has made more progress on tackling the backlog of criminal cases than at any time before in the last two decades.

It is important to note that the backlog crisis will not be fully resolved until cases set for trial have, in fact, been tried.
Since 2012, the OAG has seen a consistent increase in the amount of matters resolved per year.

This is due, in part, to an increase in the number of criminal courts, from six (6) to ten (10), and an increase in staffing.

Because of these two factors the OAG has seen a resolution rate of 230 matters per year compared to 118 in 2012.

24 Office of the Attorney-General Report Strengthening The Bail System The perception of a revolving door on bail has led to great public concern.
Serious offenders released on bail frequently violate their bail conditions and there are significant risks that they will commit further crimes, interfere with and intimidate witnesses, and compromise ongoing investigations.

In order to strengthen our system of bail, two (2) amendments to the Bail Act were passed—one in 2014 and another in 2015.
The 2014 amendments augmented the law to: ❚ Make it the burden of the applicant to satisfy the court that bail should be granted; ❚ Ensure that the protection of the victim is of paramount importance in cases where violence was involved, and; ❚ Require that an individual state that they are not currently a surety in any other proceedings.
The Bail Act was further amended in 2015, making a breach of the terms of bail a criminal offense punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a fine of up to B$50,000 or both imprisonment and a fine.

The OAG, in collaboration with RBPF has implemented new processes in relation to bail application.

These, together with a record of increasingly disposing of matters within a reasonable period of time, have led to a decrease in applications for bail in cases of murder.
In 2016, only 3% of bail applications in murder trials were granted and 7% of bail applications were granted in crimes against the person.

Often persons on bail are required to report to a local police station regularly—sometimes for drug and alcohol testing.

Many of these persons are without identification and others attempt to game the system by having someone else report for them.
Similarly, there are persons breaking the law without consequence by standing as surety in multiple proceedings because of outdated record keeping methods.

The Government has agreed to the OAG’s request to make these laws more effective by introducing a new system of bail tracking.

This 21st century bail tracking system will rely on biometrics taken at the time of arrest to ensure that persons on bail actually fulfill the terms of their bail.
When reporting to a police station facial recognition and fingerprint identification will be used to confirm the identity of the person reporting.

A database will also record the name and National Insurance Number of all persons who are currently a surety in a proceeding and will flag any attempt to break the law by becoming a surety in another proceeding.

In the meantime, we have seen a reduction in bail applications over time.
This is an interesting trend the OAG believes may suggest that because trials continue to be heard within a reasonable amount of time, the number of bail applications granted, especially to those charged with murder, has significantly decreased.
Bail Analysis 888 Bail Applications 2014 Bail Applications 2015 Bail Applications 2016 25 Office of the Attorney-General Report L–R: Justice Petra Hanna-Weekes, The Chief Justice of the Bahamas Sir Hartman Longley, and the AG at the Northern Bahamas Opening of the Legal Year 2017 26 Office of the Attorney-General Report Bail Analysis 2016 % Applications Offence % Granted Bail Granted Bail Denied Variation Granted Variation Denied Revocation Dismissed Adjourned No Update 17.68 157 Murder 2.36 21 26 17.34 154 0.79 7 19.93 177 Attempted Murder Manslaughter / Abetment Causing Harm / Other Crimes Against the person Armed Robbery / Attempted / Receiving / Burglary / Combined with Crimes Against the Person Armed Robbery / Attempted / Receiving Burglary / Other Property Offence 0.56 5 11.49 102 16.33 145 5.07 45 5.07 45 Not Updated Indicates Missing Information Possession of a Firearm / Possession Whilst Committing Another Offence Possession of Dangerous Drugs / With Intent / Other Related Rape / Attempted Rape or Rape with Another Offence Stealing / Fraud / Trafficking / Corruption / Witness Tampring Unlawful Sexual Intercourse/Incest 2.02 17 100 888 Grand 321 95 36 10 3 29 291 121 27 Office of the Attorney-General Report Public Defenders L-R: Roger Gomez, Merlande Barrett (Office Manager), Dorsey McPhee, Marianne Cadet,
 Stanley Rolle Establishing Office of the Public Defender During the 2014 Opening of the Legal Year, the Attorney- General announced that a Public Defender Unit would be established.
While this has been discussed at length for some time, until now the unit never came to fruition.

The importance of such a unit cannot be overstated as the small size of the Criminal Defence Bar has meant that scheduling cases necessarily relied on the limited availability of criminal defence lawyers.

Moreover, with delays and scheduling conflicts the crown brief system—which paid defence lawyers per appearance— led to significant cost overruns.
Since the Attorney-General’s 2014 speech, a non-profit, independent entity was launched.

This entity is governed by a Board of Directors—including Retired Justice Joseph Strachan, Chairman, Mrs. Cheryl Bazard, Deputy Chairman, Dr. David Allen, Archdeacon James Palacious, Mrs. Nicole Sutherland-King— whose remit has been to guide the process of establishing an Office of the Public Defender (“OPD”).
In 2016, the board interviewed and hired four (4) public defenders who have since been thoroughly trained in case preparation, case management, juvenile defence, advocacy and litigation strategy by a number of local and international experts, supported by COMSEC, the IDB and the U.S. State Courts.

The month long training utilized role play and mooting with experienced prosecutors and other lawyers to fortify the skill of public defenders.
A building was identified on Bay Street and refurbished for the OPD, and the new public defenders reported to work on November 21, 2016.

The Rt.

Hon.

Perry G. Christie, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, officially opened the new Office of the Public Defender on Thursday, January 19, 2017.
By establishing an office specifically dedicated to defending the accused, and easing the reliance on the crown brief system, defendants will be assured the protection of the law and equal access to justice while taxpayers will see savings over the course of time.
28 Office of the Attorney-General Report Witness Care Unit Back Row L–R: Antoinko Carroll, George Sweeting, Pierre Donald, Bernis Pinder, Kirk Butler Front Row L–R: Petra Gardiner, Darnell Taylor, Lillian Smith, Carla Brown, Yavonne Rolle, Vera Knowles, Sheniqua Thurston, Ophelia Maycock, Shandria Smith-Pang The Witness Care Unit Since beginning their work in February 2011, the Witness Care Unit has made considerable progress.
Started as a pilot in October 2010, in alignment with the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, the Unit is the first point of contact for victims and witnesses of crime in the OAG.

The Witness Care Unit handles those affected by crime from the arraignment stage to the completion of trial.

Beginning in 2015, the team adopted new standard operating procedures to make their interaction with victims and witnesses even more efficient.
Victims and witnesses are contacted soon after arraignment, and when trial dates are set.

On June 25, 2016, at the “Workshop on Case Management and Witness Care,” it was recommended that as soon as charges have been brought, there should be speedy interactions between the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Witness Care Unit in order to effectively and efficiently manage and care for all victims and witnesses from the point of charge through to the conclusion of a case, and where necessary, beyond that point.
The roadmap can be found on the OAG website.

Since August of 2015, the unit has dealt with approximately 80 cases.
Prime Minister Perry G. Christie gives the keynote at the opening of the Office of the Public Defender 29 Office of the Attorney-General Report STRATEGIC PRIORITY 2 Enhancing Essential Government Services and Strengthening Public Registries: Modern Process, Digital Engagement Office of the Attorney-General in the 21st Century The world is moving at an increasingly fast pace and citizens have transitioned from a reliance on the analog to the digital.
These same citizens expect governments to keep pace with the world changing so quickly around them—providing faster and more efficient services.

An important part of the work at the OAG has been to modernize processes and transform the way citizens experience government services.

This has meant centering the enhancement of the ease of doing business in The Bahamas and diversifying access to ensure that location does not serve as an impediment.
Online Notary Application System Notaries Public have an important function in day-to-day business operations.

Therefore, it is equally important that the application for and renewal of Notary licenses are convenient and seamless processes.

It is also important that Bahamians and those interested in doing business in The Bahamas have an easily accessible list of Notaries Public from which to choose.
In the past, Notaries Public could expect significant delays in their first time applications and their renewals because the Attorney-General manually signed each license, while staff manually checked the documents attached to the application, like the certificate evidencing Call to The Bahamas Bar.
The AG Launches the Notary Online Initiative L–R: Darian Creary, Marco Rolle, AG, Deirdre Clarke-Maycock, Linda Virgil 30 Office of the Attorney-General Report On November 10th 2016, the OAG launched a new Notary Application System that is entirely online, processing Notary licenses in minutes.

A list of licensed Notaries Public has also been published on the OAG website (www.bahamas.gov.bs/attorneygeneral) for the benefit of all.
This online application system is believed to be the first of its kind in the region and has made The Bahamas a leader in advancing government services.

Justices of the Peace Justices of the Peace are those persons appointed at the local level as lay persons who have the same powers as magistrates—to sign warrants, and to assist the police with search, seizure, and arrest warrants.
Additionally, in the event of a magistrate being too ill to perform his / her duties, the Chief Magistrate may appoint any two justices of the peace to act as a replacement.

Before anyone can operate as a Justice of the Peace, he/she must first be licensed to do so.

These licenses are granted by the OAG.

For the first time ever, a complete list of Justices of the Peace is readily accessible for all Bahamians on the OAG website.
This ensures that citizens can find and verify the status of the Justice of the Peace without any confusion.

Our team includes, Aliyah Richards, Tracy Johnson, Genette McKenzie, Joan Lloyd, and Tammy Smith from the Department of Information Technology.
Registrar General’s Department Management Back Row L–R: Darian Creary (Deputy Registrar), Wellington Smith (IT Supervisor) Front Row L–R: Deirdre Clarke-Maycock (Registrar), Althea Smith, Dellereese Grant (Assistant Registrar), Vanessa Longley 31 Office of the Attorney-General Report Companies Office Back Row L–R: Mr. Badmus, Teresita Ward, Pupil Whyms Middle Row L–R: Donna Lightbourne (Supervisor), Georgette Stubbs, Michelle Wiliams, Nakia Culmer Front Row L–R: Pupil Dean, Patrice Evans Companies E-Service Initiative On January 5, 2016, the Registrar General’s Department launched the Companies E-service Initiative.
Through the new online system, users can: ❚ Reserve company names (single or multiple); ❚ Incorporate regular Bahamian companies and IBCs; ❚ Order company documents; ❚ File company documents; ❚ Execute searches, and; ❚ Pay annual fees, all online; ❚ Payment of Stamp Duty; ❚ Filing of Officers & Directors.
32 Office of the Attorney-General Report Prime Minister Perry G. Christie attends the launch of the Companies E-Services Initaitive with the AG With the implementation of the Companies E-Service the RGD has seen an increase in revenue and improvements in incorporation turn-around times.

From July 2016 to November 2016 the Companies Section collected $7,822,830.50 with the new electronic system compared to only $3,824,920.67 during the same period last year before the e-service initiative launch.
This represents a difference of $3,997,916.83 in revenue.

The RGD is determined to work hand in hand with the private sector to provide quick and efficient service which will impact the way in which we do business here in The Bahamas and abroad.
In this vein the Department is pushing forward with the implementation of Version 2.0 of its eService which will include Company Continuation, Dissolutions, Foundations and recording Deeds and Documents which in the initial stage will cover Conveyances and all documents connected to the same.
These upgrades will continue with the integration of National Insurance Board records to ensure that information is shared across platforms and government agencies, making working with multiple government agencies more convenient and efficient.

AG joins Min.
AG joins Min.

Of Health Dr. Perry Gomez on a visit to BAMSI 33 Office of the Attorney-General Report Marriage Officers Initiative The Registrar General’s Department has the responsibility for the licensing of Marriage Officers and the processing of marriage licenses.

On November 1, 2016 an initiative was launched to provide future brides and grooms with a list of all active licensed Marriage Officers online.
This initiative will allow persons to view the list of licensed Marriage Officers available and select whom they wish to use.

The list is available on both the Office of the Attorney-General’s and Registrar General’s Department websites.

Licensed Marriage Officers can also log-on to the Civil Registry Information System, free of charge, to initiate and complete marriage licenses request form and record the solemnized marriage.
Maritime Marriages Digital Registry In 2013, the RGD partnered with The Bahamas Maritime Authority to launch an initiative that allowed Captains and First Officers on Bahamian registered vessels, to conduct Bahamian registered marriages while cruising outside the territorial waters of The Bahamas.

This initiative which is known as Maritime Marriage Initiative allows cruise ships wedding planners to arrange wedding ceremonies using the Registry’s online function.
The online function allows an application to be processed along with all supporting documents, approved or denied and the documents are then returned to the cruise ships for the ceremony to take place while at sea.

The Captain, on completion of ceremony, will issue a Bahamian marriage certificate to the couple and the marriage is recorded within the Registry’s marriage database electronically.
Presently, there are one hundred and ninety-seven (197) Maritime Marriage Officers in the Programme, stemming from two major Cruise lines and the possibility of a third coming on stream in a few months.

The Department is currently receiving Maritime Marriage Couple’s Applications up to September, 2017.
Marriages Office L–R: Alice Coakley, Tracey Charlow, Audrey Demeritte 34 Office of the Attorney-General Report Certified Copies in the Family Islands In 2014, through the mobilization of the Registrar General’s e-Services, Family Island Administrators in Abaco and Eleuthera were able to issue certified copies of birth, death and marriage documents.

This initiative was expanded in 2016 to allow for Cat Island and San Salvador to also issue certified copies of the same.
By allowing Family Island Administrators to issue these certified documents residents are now able to retrieve the documents locally and not have to incur the expense of travelling to Grand Bahama or New Providence to engage in such transactions.

The Registry is working to ensure that other islands come online so that all Bahamians are afforded the same privilege.

This initiative will exist in every Family Island, out of every Administrative Office by the end of the June 2017.
Deeds and Documents Office L–R: Ashley Lewis, Jacara Taylor, Henry Forbes, Christine Roker (Supervisor) AG holds the first baby to be registered at the launch of online birth registration and certification North Andros L–R: Hon.

Dr. Perry Gomez, Jason Wilson Evans (infant), Sen. Hon.
Allyson Maynard-Gibson 35 Office of the Attorney-General Report Intellectual Property The Bahamas is moving quickly toward realizing a modern Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and advancing its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), all while improving the ease of doing business.
The 2015 compendium of 6 Intellectual Property bills (the Copyright [Amendment] Bill, the Patents Bill, the Trademarks Bill, the Geographical Indicators Bill, the Integrated Circuits Bill and the False Trade Descriptions Bill) nudged The Bahamas further along the path of complete compliance with the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS).

This agreement prescribes rules for all major forms of IP including copyrights, trademarks, patents and industrial designs.
The aforementioned compendium of legislation has provided the foundation for upgrades in the IPO at the Registrar General’s Department.

In recent years, a large backlog of trademark applications and changes to user documents (for example names and address details for trademark holders) had built up, but following the engagement of external technical assistance support, these have now been substantially cleared following the engagement of IP administration service, Blue Spyder Ltd.
Currently, 100% of the data capture and approximately 90% of the clean-up is completed.

Registers have been created and scanned for all registered applications and the office is currently usingWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) supplied software, the international standard.
Financed by the IDB Trade Sector Support Loan (2756/OC-BH), and in partnership with the WIPO, the IPO is currently in the process of procuring new software and hardware to provide all IP related processing of Trademarks, Patents, Design Copyright and Copyright online and in order to improve internal efficiency.

It is expected that in the next year the IPO will be in a position to provide better services through more sophisticated electronic tools.
Intellectual Property Office L–R: Gale Grant, Gayle Evans-Davis, Gaynell Dames 36 Office of the Attorney-General Report Edith Sweeney (1st left) and the staff of Blue Spyder WHAT IS A GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION?

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defines geographical indication (GI) as a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place.

In addition, the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin.

Since the qualities depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link between the product and its original place of production.

This means that products particular to certain islands in The Bahamas, like the Acklins Cascarilla and the Andros sponge, are now protected.
It is an offense to label goods as originating in a geographical area other than the place of origin.

The penalty for the offense is a $10,000 fine.
37 Office of the Attorney-General Report STRATEGIC PRIORITY 3 Supporting the Attorney-General by providing the best legal services to the people and government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas; The Preeminent Law Chamber Department of Legal Affairs: Advocating on Behalf of Bahamians As both service provider and adviser for the Government of The Bahamas, the Department of Legal Affairs—including Civil Chambers, Civil Litigation and International Legal Cooperation sections—has been focused on generating excellent legal products in a timely manner.
To achieve this objective the department has embarked on the journey of changing its internal culture and the systems it uses to process work.

Most of the staff resources in the OAG are focused on criminal prosecution.

This does not mean that the work by the Department of Legal Affairs is any less intense.

Clients of the department—the government, statutory corporation and essentially the Bahamian people—expect both quality and speed at the highest professional standards.
In order to satisfy the needs of clients, a culture of urgency and flexibility is required.

The department is using the continued professional development of legal and administrative staff to encourage changes in attitude and team dynamics.

The Director of Legal Affairs has implemented a three year plan to ensure that all staff obtain qualifications higher than what they currently possess.

Technology is also being leveraged to improve organization and efficiency.
In 2015, sections within the Department of Legal Affairs initiated use of DataCap and FileNet to transform the department’s approach to daily business operations.

These software applications allow the department to convert existing physical documents to electronic format, giving staff the ability to better manage content for improved task efficiency.
38 Office of the Attorney-General Report L–R: Maria Zancolla, Abigail Farrington, Sybrena Deleveaux, Aniska Hanchell, Kristin Stubbs, Erica Duncombe, Tamika Basden, Cordell Frazier L–R: Deputy Registrar Darian Creary, Director of Legal Affairs Antoinette Bonamy, AG 39 Office of the Attorney-General Report L–R: Portia Roberts, Imanika Jean, Celestine Williamson, David Higgins, Carla Saunders, Charah Hall Rolle, Hyacinth Smith, Anastacia Hepburn International Legal Cooperation Unit Back Row L–R: Jewel Major, Chief Counsel, Alicia Gibson, Assistant Counsel, Dywan Bryan, Counsel, Ashley Sturrup, Assistant Counsel and Necree Pedican-Rolle, Executive Officer.
Front Row L–R: Tiffany Moss, Counsel, Kenrah Newry, Assistant Director of Legal Affairs and Michelle Dean, Assistant Director of Legal Affairs, Head of International Legal Cooperation Unit.

40 Office of the Attorney-General Report The Attorney-General Addresses the Universal Periodic Review and United Nations Human Rights Meeting The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is the process through which the United Nations reviews the human rights records of all 193 of its member states.
The ultimate goal of the UPR is the improvement of the human rights situation in every country with significant consequences for people around the globe.

The UPR is designed to prompt, support, and expand the promotion and protection of human rights on the ground.

To achieve this, the UPR involves assessing States’ human rights records and addressing human rights violations wherever they occur.
The UPR also aims to provide technical assistance to States and enhance their capacity to deal effectively with human rights challenges and to share best practices in the field of human rights among States and other stakeholders.

In 2013, the Attorney-General led the Bahamian delegation to the UPR and acted as the interlocutor of The Bahamas’ human rights record on the international stage.
During her addresses the Attorney-General covered a number of issues arising from the UPR process and associated reviews.

She assured the President of the UPR and the Members of the Council that the Government was wholly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and to the work of the Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
AG leads delegation to Geneva to the UPR Front Row L–R: Marilyn Zonicle, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister the Hon.
Senator Allyson Maynard-Gibson, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Cleola Hamilton Back Row L–R: Jewel Major, Charles Major, Melanie Zonicle, Angelika Hillebrandt 41 Office of the Attorney-General Report Defending Immigration Policy Before The IACHR The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) published a report on The Bahamas’ immigration policy in February 2015, based on information provided by local human rights groups, calling on The Bahamas to implement a number of recommendations to facilitate improved conditions for persons detained at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.
The Government responded, highlighting that the report appeared to have adopted the narrative of these human rights groups which was untested, anecdotal and not based in fact.

Minister of State for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez, addressed the IACHR in March 2015 to defend The Bahamas’ human rights record.

He noted that the allegations made were untrue as it relates to the new immigration policy and that facilities at the detention center were state of the art.
The government recently completed new dormitories for those held at the detention center at a cost of $1 million.

Furthermore, Minister Gomez also dismissed suggestions that Haitians were being targeted under the new policy, adding that public records show otherwise and that the Government of The Bahamas “acts even handedly in respect of the enforcement of our laws”.

Former Minister of State for Legal Affairs, Hon.


Damien Gomez, addresses The IACHR 42 Office of the Attorney-General Report MESICIC Country Report Adopted The Mechanism for Follow-Up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) is an inter-governmental body established within the framework of the OAS.
This mechanism is meant to support the States Parties in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention and to formulate recommendations based on those areas where there may be legal gaps or in which further progress is necessary.

This is done through a process of reciprocal evaluation, based on conditions of equality among the states.
At the 25th MESICIC meeting, held in March 2015, the Committee of Experts adopted the country report for The Bahamas on the implementation of this treaty during the the 4th round of reviews.

A significant portion of the report focused on oversight bodies in The Bahamas with the responsibility for the prevention, detection, punishment and eradication of acts of corruption.
Accordingly, the report examined the OAG, the Public Disclosure Commission, the Department of the Auditor General, the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Compliance Commission.The progress made by The Bahamas in relation to the recommendations of the First Round of the MESICIC was also reviewed.

As this effort was led by the OAG, information on the Swift Justice Initiative was also included in the report.
The Swift Justice Initiative, as a best practice, is an example of an initiative incorporating detection, investigative, prosecutorial and punishment elements and seeking to facilitate collaboration between the institutions and agencies within the justice system.
Implementing the Common Reporting Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Information December 2016 marked a significant month for the financial services industry in The Bahamas, as the bill to provide for the implementation of the Common Standard on Reporting (CRS) and due diligence for financial Account Information in Tax matters and for connected purposes was passed unanimously in both Houses of Parliament.
The CRS for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information is the priority initiative for The Bahamas Government to fulfil its commitment to provide a global regulatory tax compliance regime.

The Act sets out the requisite legal framework for implementation of the procedure, as required by reportable financial institutions for the automatic exchange, which now makes it obligatory for the aforementioned institutions to comply with, on an annual basis.
In addition to the passage of this important legislation in Parliament, proactive steps have already taken place to identify the countries that The Bahamas intends to negotiate with in order to enter into bilateral agreements for the automatic exchange of financial account information.

After receiving advice from industry experts and technical experts within government, The Bahamas elected the bilateral approach for implementation and will enter into agreements with countries on a country-by-country basis.
An initial group of countries has been prioritized following consultation between The Ministry of Finance as the Competent Authority, The Office of the Attorney-General, The Ministry of Financial Services, The Bahamas Financial Services Board and industry stakeholders.

An implementation framework and action plan has also been developed to ensure that The Bahamas has fully implemented the CRS by 2018.
43 Office of the Attorney-General Report Chairing the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force is an international, intergovernmental organization made up of 27 countries from the Caribbean region.

The Hon.

Allyson Maynard Gibson served as Chair of CFATF from 2013 to 2014.

Currently The Bahamas serves on the Steering Group of the organization and is represented on several Working Groups.
The main objective of the CFATF is to achieve effective implementation of and compliance with FATF Recommendations to prevent and control money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism.

The organization’s core work is to carry out evaluations of members’ AML/CFT regime by conducting mutual evaluations.

The Bahamas underwent a Mutual Evaluation onsite by CFATF in December 2015.

The Bahamas’ Report is scheduled to be presented to the CFATF May Plenary meeting in 2017.
AG brings welcome remarks at the First Regional Anti-money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Conference 44 AG announces the relaunch of Laws On-Line Parliamentary Enactments: Legislation 2014-2016 One hundred and thirty (130) pieces of legislation were prepared by the OAG and LRRC, collectively, were enacted by parliament during the last three years.
Those laws are listed: Appendices A, B and C. Bahamas Laws On-Line Bahamas Laws On-Line is a database of the consolidated text of the statutes and subsidiary legislation of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

The site has become a reference for lawyers and laypersons alike.

As Bills are tabled in Parliament they are uploaded to the OAG website.

When they are enacted, they are uploaded to Bahamas Laws On-Line.
A consolidation of laws up to 2014 has been completed, ensuring that the site contains most of the statutes enacted and subsidiary legislation from January, 2010 to December, 2014.

The consolidation of laws up to 2016 has also commenced.

The website was re- launched by the OAG in April of 2015 with major upgrades.

The user-friendly website provides links for Frequently Asked Questions and how to purchase copies of the Official Gazette online.
The Ministry of Legal Affairs ensures that as laws are passed they are chronologically posted to the website under the year.

The Law Reform Commission, along with Government Printing and the Department of Information Technology work together to make this initiative possible.
Office of the Attorney-General Report EXTERNAL SCRUTINY Expert Reports 46 Report on Assessment of Criminal Justice Initiatives in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas: Interim Report Report on the Creation of The Office of the Public Defender in The Bahamas Pilot Project for A Swift Justice System in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Performance Technical Cooperation: Compendium of Reports Pilot Project for A Swift Justice System in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Performance Technical Cooperation: Final Performance Assessment Modernizing the Intellectual Property Office of The Bahamas: Strategy Report Key Judicial Decisions 50 R.B.
(a juvenile) v. Attorney-General [SCCrimApp No.

205] Office of the Attorney-General Report The OAG has engaged experts to produce a number of reports over the last three years to inform the advancement of its strategic priorities.

These expert reports have been executed by external consultants, often provided by partner organizations.
Report on Assessment of Criminal Justice Initiatives in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas: Interim Report The OAG and COMSEC has, over the last two years, engaged in meaningful dialogue about ways to improve the administration of justice.

The Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of COMSEC produced an interim report, delivering a number of recommendations for each stage of the criminal justice process.
These recommendations include structural and systemic changes, the establishment of a Constitutional office of the Department of Public Prosecutions, as well as other procedural and legislative proposals.

Report on the Creation of The Office of the Public Defender in The Bahamas COMSEC also played a pivotal role in the establishing of the Office of the Public Defender.
In 2014, the Secretariat commissioned a report from the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law on how best to roll-out a new public defenders unit.

The report covered a number of areas including the reduction of time to trial, laying out a long-term model for a publicly funded criminal defence unit, best practices in governance and the scope of service for the new office.
EXPERT REPORTS 46 Office of the Attorney-General Report Pilot Project for A Swift Justice System in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Performance Technical Cooperation: Expert Reports On January 16, 2014 the Government of The Bahamas entered into a technical cooperation agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank for assistance with a Pilot Project for a Swift Justice System in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas (BH-T1037).
The B$250,000 grant was intended to support the OAG in tackling the challenge of lengthy duration of criminal trials.

The pilot focused on three (3) areas: ❚ Court Reporting ❚ Calendaring and Scheduling ❚ Case Management and Backlog Reduction These are all areas that align with the four “escape routes” identified by the Attorney-General in 2012.
The compendium of reports were prepared by Key Expert and former High Court England and Wales judge, Dame Linda Dobbs; Court Reporting, Calendaring and Scheduling Expert, Mr. Ben Yallop; and Department of Public Prosecutions Expert, Mr. Mike Kennedy.

Over one hundred (100) recommendations were made, addressing management and training, processes and operating procedures, as well as hardware and software upgrades.
The results of these reports were used as input for the preparation of the Citizen Security and Justice Loan Programme (BH-L1033) which is ongoing.

47 Office of the Attorney-General Report Pilot Project for A Swift Justice System in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Performance Technical Cooperation: Final Performance Assessment The Pilot Project for a Swift Justice System in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas concluded on August 9th, 2016.
As is the case with all IDB technical cooperations, a final evaluation was made on the execution of the grant based on the key performance indicators.

This report was authored by an independent consultant.
The evaluation rated the IDB pilot project as “highly satisfactory.” Among other things, the report concluded that “during the 2-year course of the programme, some particularly significant achievements were made in the criminal justice system in The Bahamas which, while they cannot be directly attributed to this pilot TC project, can certainly be credited to the government’s overall ongoing Swift Justice Initiative.” The report continued, “there is strong evidence that the government’s ongoing Swift Justice Initiative and related reforms and improvements—especially in the area of policing, prosecution and the courts— are yielding impressive results.
The government is thus due considerable credit for its continued political will and commitment to meaningful justice sector reform, especially as such reforms are being implemented in an environment that has been placing more demands on the system than ever.” 48 Office of the Attorney-General Report Modernizing the Intellectual Property Office of The Bahamas: Strategy Report The Trade Sector and Support Loan Programme (2756/0C-BH) was signed by the Government of The Bahamas in July 2012.
The purpose of this loan programme is to improve the facilitation of trade while strengthening the ability of customs to collect revenue and protect the borders by the enhancement and modernization of customs operations and the international trade institutional platform of The Bahamas.

An integral part of trade support is the enhancement of the IPO.

The TSSL has set aside B$362,500 to transform the IPO.

A report was prepared at the request of the Government of The Bahamas.
The purpose of the report was to set out a strategy for the establishment of a modern intellectual property office in The Bahamas and focused on: ❚ Staffing recommendations; ❚ Appropriate hardware/software for a modern operation; ❚ Physical set-up of the office; ❚ Drafting guidelines; ❚ Making recommendations as to international best practices/standard operation procedures; ❚ Suggesting a model for judicial matters; ❚ And any other matter of importance to achieve government objectives.
The report is currently informing the procurement of human and technological resources for the IPO modernizing project, supported by the loan.

49 Office of the Attorney-General Report KEY JUDICIAL DECISIONS 4.2.

1 R.B.

(a juvenile) v. Attorney-General [SCCrimApp No.

205] In 2014, a minor (the appellant) was charged, at the age of fifteen (15) years old, with one count armed robbery, one count receiving and two counts possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
The minor was remanded to The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDOCS) by the Chief Magistrate and advised of his right to apply for bail.

The minor, having spent some ten (10) months on remand applied to the Supreme Court for bail and was denied.

This decision was appealed and the decision was set aside.
The judgment by the Court of Appeals made clear that the consideration of the welfare of the child is paramount (Child Protection Act) and calls for consideration of The Bahamas’ international obligations under the Child Rights Convention and the extent to which those obligations have been incorporated into domestic law.

It raises important issues as to the approach to be adopted by judges whenever a child comes before the courts in criminal matters.
In response to this important judgement, the OAG is working closely with community organization, Project Youth Justice, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to partner in the piloting of a new, peer community court that will provide alternative sentencing for young people.

Assessments are in progress which will form the basis for the planning of a new Family Court and Drug Rehabilitation Court to focus specifically on juvenile offenders.
50 Office of the Attorney-General Report FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Financial Performance The Citizen Security and Justice Loan Programme 52 58 Office of the Attorney-General Report FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE This section highlights the financial performance of the office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs, including the Registrar General’s Department, as presented in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas 2016/17 Budget Communication.
OAG Accounts Department L–R: Katherine Petty, Gwendolyn Johnson, Kathy Robins, Dellarese Charlton, Michelle Johnson, Preston Moxey 52 Office of the Attorney-General Report RGD Accounts Department Back Row L–R: Teresita Ward, Shavanda McPhee, Althea Smith (Supervisor) Front Row L–R: Charlotte McPhee, Pandora Munroe, Tiffany Pratt 53 Office of the Attorney-General Report Budget Head: Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs Provisional Actual Expenditure 2013/2014 Expenditure (Provisional) July–March 2014/2015 Approved Estimates 2014/2015 Estimates 2015/2016 Preliminary Forecast Estimates 2016/2017 Preliminary Forecast Estimates 2017/2018 $ $ $ $ $ $ Personal Emoluments 7,956,558 6,917,371 8,537,449 8,915,968 8,856,648 8,856,648 Allowances 489,270 340,517 572,100 562,100 562,100 562,100 Other Charges 5,137,214 2,050,368 4,139,538 4,454,493 4,550,505 4,550,505 TOTALS 13,583,042 9,308,256 13,249,087 13,932,561 13,969,253 13,969,253 Budget Head: Registrar General’s Department Provisional Actual Expenditure 2013/2014 Expenditure (Provisional) July–March 2014/2015 Approved Estimates 2014/2015 Estimates 2015/2016 Preliminary Forecast Estimates 2016/2017 Preliminary Forecast Estimates 2017/2018 $ $ $ $ $ $ Personal Emoluments 2,240,191 1,679,988 2,185,670 2,488,910 2,260,000 2,260,000 Allowances 4,955 1,200 16,800 16,800 16,800 16,800 Other Charges 891,792 577,084 942,100 1,061,348 1,097,618 1,107,997 TOTALS 3,136,938 2,258,272 3,144,570 3,567,058 3,374,418 3,384,797 54 Office of the Attorney-General
 Report Recurrent Block: Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs Provisional Actual Expenditure 2013/2014 Expenditure (Provisional) July–March 2014/2015 Approved Estimates 2014/2015 Estimates 2015/2016 Preliminary Forecast Estimates 2016/2017 Preliminary Forecast Estimates 2017/2018 Item No.
Title of Item $ $ $ $ $ $ PERSONAL EMOLUMENTS & ALLOWANCES Block 1 Personal Emoluments 7,956,558 6,917,371 8,537,449 8,915,968 8,856,648 8,856,648 Block 2 Allowances 489,270 340,517 572,100 562,100 562,100 562,100 Sub: Personal Emoluments & Allowances 8,445,828 7,257,889 9,109,549 9,478,068 9,418,748 9,418,748 OTHER CHARGES Block 10 Travel and Subsistence 373,039 300,972 415,000 415,000 434,000 434,000 Block 20 Transportation of Things 12,412 8,150 15,000 15,000 15,000 15,000 Block 30 Rent, Communication & Utilities 217,075 103,335 232,500 62,500 62,500 62,500 Block 40 Printing and Reproduction 70,347 52,890 89,748 0 0 0 Block 50 Other Contractual Services/ Family Isl.
Dev.
2,656,240 798,052 1,313,290 1,620,493 1,689,005 1,689,005 Block 60 Supplies and Materials 54,562 51,697 94,000 61,500 95,000 95,000 Block 80 Repairs, Maintenance & Upkeep of Capital Assets Block 90 Grants, Fxd Charges & Special Fin Transactions 20,600 20,184 40,000 40,000 55,000 55,000 1,463,720 715,086 1,940,000 1,940,000 2,200,000 2,200,000 Sub: Other Charges 4,867,996 2,050,367 4,139,538 4,154,493 4,550,505 4,550,505 ITEMS NOT REPEATED Block 99 Items Not Repeated 269,218 Sub: Items Not Repeated 269,218 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 13,583,042 9,308,256 13,249,087 13,632,561 13,969,253 13,969,253 55 Office of the Attorney-General Report Recurrent Block: Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs Provisional Actual Expenditure 2013/2014 Expenditure (Provisional) July–March 2014/2015 Approved Estimates 2014/2015 Estimates 2015/2016 Preliminary Forecast Estimates 2016/2017 Preliminary Forecast Estimates 2017/2018 Item No.
Title of Item $ $ $ $ $ $ PERSONAL EMOLUMENTS & ALLOWANCES Block 1 Personal Emoluments 2,240,191 1,679,988 2,185,670 2,488,910 2,260,000 2,260,000 Block 2 Allowances 4,955 1,200 16,800 16,800 16,800 16,800 Sub: Personal Emoluments & Allowances 2,245,146 1,681,188 2,202,470 2,505,710 2,276,800 2,276,800 OTHER CHARGES Block 10 Travel and Subsistence 5,750 4,812 24,800 24,800 24,800 24,800 Block 20 Transportation of Things 536 754 3,600 3,600 3,600 3,600 Block 30 Rent, Communication & Utilities 82,531 158,268 160,000 97,500 102,375 107,495 Block 40 Printing and Reproduction 53,213 36,295 85,000 0 0 0 Block 50 Other Contractual Services/ Family Isl.
Dev.
495,050 333,120 597,600 843,848 869,138 873,233 Block 60 Supplies and Materials 39,213 36,388 53,600 62,400 62,920 63,468 Block 80 Repairs, Maintenance & Upkeep of Capital Assets Block 90 Grants, Fxd Charges & Special Fin Transactions 13,058 5,763 17,500 19,200 19,785 20,401 0 1,684 0 10,000 15,000 15,000 Sub: Other Changes 689,352 577,084 942,100 1,061,348 1,097,618 1,107,997 ITEMS NOT REPEATED Block 99 Items Not Repeated 202,440 Sub: Items Not Repeated 202,440 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 3,136,938 2,258,272 3,144,570 3,567,058 3,374,418 3,384,797 56 Office of the Attorney-General Report Revenue Detail: Registrar General’s Department Provisional Actual Expenditure 2013/2014 Revenue (Provisional) July–March 2014/2015 Approved Forecast Revenue 2014/2015 Forecasted Revenue 2015/2016 Preliminary Forecasted Revenue 2016/2017 Preliminary Forecasted Revenue 2017/2018 Item No.
Title of Item $ $ $ $ $ $ 9081100 Foreign Company Registration 9081200 Foreign Company Annual Fees 9081300 Bahamian Company Registration 9081400 Bahamian Company Annual Fees 9081600 Foundation Fees (Documents) Segregated Accounts 165,352 164,020 98,500 200,000 206,000 210,000 9081800 Executive Entities Registration 4,575 9,430 4,700 6,000 6,600 6,666 9081900 Executive Entities Fees 19,050 2,650 16,000 6,000 6,500 7,000 9082100 IBC Registration Fees 1,589,392 1,045,690 1,565,350 1,650,000 1,700,000 1,725,000 9082200 IBC Continuation Fees 37,202 63,005 24,800 45,000 45,700 46,200 9082300 IBC Annual Fees 15,059,785 12,916,349 15,755,000 16,000,000 16,250,000 16,500,000 9083300 Investment Condominiums 9089100 Name Reservation 9089200 Extended Name Reservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6,600 6,666 6,733 82,500 84,500 86,500 10,000 10,100 10,201 TOTALS 21,781,507 18,419,601 22,071,204 23,461,455 23,831,974 24,205,058 57 Office of the Attorney-General Report Financial Resources: Ministry of Legal Affairs Provisional Actual Expenditure 2013/2014 Expenditure (Provisional) July–March 2014/2015 Approved Estimates 2014/2015 Budget Estimate 2015/2016 Forward Estimates 2016/2017 Forward Estimates 2017/2018 $ $ $ $ $ $ 13,583,042 9,308,256 13,249,087 13,122,381 13,459,073
 12,704,761 3,136,938 2,235,542 3,144,570 3,567,058 3,374,418 3,358,346 Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs Recurrent Registrar General's Department Recurrent TOTALS 16,719,980 11,543,798 16,393,657 16,689,439 16,833,491 16,063,107 THE CITIZEN SECURITY AND JUSTICE LOAN PROGRAMME The OAG is also one of the ministries involved in the CSJP, in partnership with the IDB.
This loan programme became eligible in 2016 for disbursements.

Since reaching eligibility, the OAG has only a few disbursements.
For more information on the Citizen Security and Justice Loan Programme visit: http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project- description-title,1303.html?id=BH-L1033 Consultant Amount ($) Comp 3 Assessment 13,196.25 Initiation and Prep of Historic Backlog Cases 19,293.00 Public Defenders Training Fee 7,222.22 AG gives remarks at the launch of the Citizen Security and Justice Loan Programme TOTAL 39,711.47 58 Office of the Attorney-General Report HUMAN RESOURCES Learning and Development 60 Training Courses 2014 to 2016 Legal Officers Attending Training Locally and Abroad Employment Programmes Diversity Staff Development In Memoriam 68 Office of the Attorney-General Report LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT Training Courses 2014 to 2016 RGD Training Staff Back Row L–R: Herbert Ferguson, Trainee Administrator Front Row L–R: Nadia Brown-Bonaby, Trainee Administrator, Kasa Hanna 60 Office of the Attorney-General Report Feb 26–27 2014 Oct 27–29 2014 Nov 18 2014 May 7 2015 May 25 2016 Succession Planning Workshop Paul H. Farquharson Conference Center Cecilia Strachan Deputy Permanent Secretary Charting the Course: Servicing the Public Service College of The Bahamas Harry C. Moore Library Sandradee Gardiner Hyacinth Smith Kim Adderley Gelize Ferguson Ronica Montreuil Rosewell Bennett Camille Hall Laverne Crawley Yvonne Rolle Cecilia Strachan Sandra Grant Assistant Director of PP Assistant Counsel Chief Executive Secretary Chief Executive Officer Senior Executive Officer Office Assistant Senior Clerk Administrative Cadet Chief Clerk
 Deputy Permanent Secretary Chief Executive Officer Motivational Customer Service Workshop Office of the Attorney-General 3rd Floor Conference Room All Janitresses, Receptionists, and Messengers Administrative Professionals Seminar: “Excellence is still the Precedence” College of The Bahamas Choices Restaurant All Secretaries and Administrative Professionals Training in Disciplinary Matters Office of the Attorney-General 3rd Floor Conference Room Delmon Rolle Zelda Allen Gelize Ferguson Carletha Toote Cecilia Strachan Senior Assistant Secretary Administrative Officer Chief Executive Officer Senior Executive Officer Deputy Permanent Secretary 61 Office of the Attorney-General Report Legal Officers Attending Training Locally and Abroad Feb 23–27 The Eighth Joint Mtg.
of Customs Officials 2015 Geneva, Switzerland Apr 20–22 2015 Training for Legal Officers Belize Abigail Farrington Morlette Johnson Mar 16–27 2015 WIPO Geneva, Switzerland Deirdre Clarke-Maycock Apr 27 –May 1 World Intellectual Property Workshop 2015 Castries, Saint Lucia Darian Creary Mar 24–26 2015 Regional Training Workshop to address the Smuggling of Migrants May 24–28 2015 Panama City, Panama Sandradee Gardiner XII Plenary Mtg.
of CFATF Port of Spain, Trinidad Michelle Dean & Tiffany Moss Apr 6–10 Strategies of Case Management 2015 Singapore Yvonne Rolle Jun 16–17 2015 International Family Law, Legal Co-Operation & Commerce Trinidad & Tobago Kayla Green-Smith 62 Office of the Attorney-General Report Jun 29 –Jul 17 Caribbean Assoc.
of Law Libraries 2015 Barbados Carmen Moss & Primrose Chase Aug 10–14 2015 UNCAC Republic of China Neil Brathwaite, Kenrah Newry & Kendra Kelly Jul 7–9 2015 Office The High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) Regional Workshop on Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Sept 21–22 2015 Public Sector Leadership Conference in Overcoming the Implementation Deficit from Planning to Performance Barbados Jewel Major and Tiffany Moss Barbados Cecila Strachan Jul 16–17 Italian Gov.

Training Prog.
Illicit Economy 2015 Rome, Italy Kenrah Francis-Newry Sept 2015 “Pilot Course on Statelessness” Sponsored and conducted by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL) Sanremo, Italy Jewel Major Jul 6–24 2015 The Fifty First Session of the Seminar on International Law Dec 7–11 2015 Geneva, Switzerland Darcel Smith-Williamson The Office of The High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) Training of Trainers Programme for the English Speaking Caribbean Countries, Canada and the USA on the UN Human Rights Conventions Barbados Jewel Major 63 Office of the Attorney-General Report Human Resources L–R: Gelize Ferguson, Zelda Allen, Christal Smith, Laverene Cranley, Cecilia Strachan, Emma Foulkes, Carletha Toote, Delmon Rolle, Antoinette Newton Employment Programmes The OAG Pupillage Programme is a key feature of the Human Resources Department.
Pupillage is offered to Public Officers who have completed the LL.B.

Degree, as well as private students.

The department is especially proud of its record as a training ground for pupils and a wide variety of opportunities for legal exposure both in the OAG and the Supreme Court.

OAG hosted thirteen (13) pupils in 2014 and 2015 and ten (10) in 2016.
64 Office of the Attorney-General Report Diversity The OAG recognizes that a diverse workforce creates a more innovative and productive work environment, and enriches our organizational culture.

This office has a special commitment to providing a supportive and inclusive work environment to attract, retain, support and develop the career aspirations of employees with disabilities.

Currently, OAG employs two disabled persons— one (1) vision impaired and one (1) hearing impaired.
Abby Munroe, who is vision impaired, was chosen by her department for the Public Service Employee of the Year Awards Ceremony.

OAG expects to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Salvation Army’s Erin H. Gilmour School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in 2017 to train students as transcriptionists for the courts.

By providing this training, persons who are visually impaired can acquire a skill and put that skill to good use in the service of their country.
Receptionists L–R: Abby Munroe, Agnes Pratt 65 Office of the Attorney-General Report Staff Developments Staff Developments 2014 In 2014, OAG welcomed twenty-six (26) new staff members and hired persons, for the first time, to specifically perform the duties of Witness Care Officers.
The new staff included: ❚ 1 Consultant (posted to the Business License Unit) ❚ 3 Witness Care Officers ❚ 7 Clerical Officers ❚ 2 Counsels OAG also honored its best and most dedicated employees in an official presentation ceremony in November 2014.

Mr. Jermain Dames, Senior Clerk was selected as Employee of the Year to represent the entire Ministry at the Public Service Employee of the Year Awards Ceremony.
Staff Developments 2015 2015 saw the appointment of a new Director of Legal Affairs in the person of Ms. Antoinette Bonamy, with effect from January 2nd, 2015.

Ms. Bonamy has served in the OAG for twenty-nine (29) years in the Department of Legal Affairs, rising from the rank of Assistant Counsel.
A number of Attorney’s were also promoted: ❚ ❚ 11 Assistant Counsels to Counsel 14 Counsels to senior Counsels ❚ 2 Senior Counsels to Chief Counsels ❚ 5 Chief Counsels to Assistant Directors In 2015, OAG also added twenty-three (23) new officers to its staff: ❚ 13 Pupils—4 from the private sector and 3 OAG clerical/administrative staff, 6 from other government ministries ❚ 1 Chief Clerk ❚ 3 Witness Care Officers ❚ 4 Senior Counsel ❚ 1 Counsel ❚ 4 Assistant Counsels This year’s Employee of the Year was Ms. Lynette Rolle, Clerk from the Office of the Judiciary.
Staff Developments 2016 As of November 2016, OAG has hired twenty-three (23) new staff in total.
❚ 8 Assistant Counsel ❚ 2 Counsel ❚ 1 Chief Counsel ❚ 2 janitorial staff ❚ 10 pupils, 5 public officers and 5 private sector The Ministry also saw the retirement of four (4) members of staff: ❚ Cynthia Gibbs, Permanent Secretary ❚ Vernal Collie, Assistant Director of Legal Affairs ❚ Angela Phillips, Office Manager ❚ Carmen Moss, Officer Manager and Librarian 66 Office of the Attorney-General Report AG Announces to University of the Bahamas Bachelor of Laws students that they will now have automatic entry into the Eugene Dupuch Law School upon graduation 67 Office of the Attorney-General Report IN MEMORIAM Jason Sweeting 1972–2016 Security Guard DOB: October 24th, 1972 Died: December 20th, 2016 Jacqueline Butler-Stubbs 1963–2016 Janitress DOB: 17th December, 1963 Died: 21st September, 2016 Employed from September 12th, 2005 Employed from June 22nd, 1987 Carlesa Arthur 1976–2016 Senior Clerk DOB: 9th October, 1976 Died: 24th October 2016 Joycelyn Smith-Brown 1952–2015 Janitress DOB: 2nd July, 1952 Died: December, 2015 Employed from July 31st, 2006 Employed from January 13th, 1992 68 Office of the Attorney-General Report COURTESY CALLS 2014 2015 2016 2017 70 72 74 76 Office of the Attorney-General Report Courtesy Calls in 2014 People’s Republic of China Envoy’s Courtesy Call UN High Commissioner for Refugees calls Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs MESICIC on-site evaluator calls on Bahamas Attorney-General 70 Office of the Attorney-General Report Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs welcomes
 Senior Judicial Officers from China to the office of the Attorney-General Members of the Youth Empowement Program (YEP) call on the Attorney-General 71 Office of the Attorney-General Report Courtesy Calls in 2015 Families Organized Against Murder calls on the Attorney-General URCA and ITU meet with Bahamas AG on ICT Development Captain Tellis Bethel, Deputy Commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, presented a book he has written, entitled The Lucayan Sea Birthplace of the Modern Americas, to AG 72 Office of the Attorney-General Report Former Governor General HE Arthur Dion Hanna, Sr.; Senator the Hon.
Allyson Maynard-Gibson; and Arthur Dion Hanna, Jr. during the press conference to announce his retirement IDB Country Representative, Florencia Attademo-Hirt Calls on the Attorney-General 73 Office of the Attorney-General Report Courtesy Calls in 2016 Minister Maynard-Gibson and The Association of International Bank and Trust (AIBT) Minister Maynard-Gibson and PAHO/WHO Representative to The Bahamas Dr. Gerry Eijkemans 74 Office of the Attorney-General Report Pastors from the Community Court of Justice pay courtesy call on the Attorney-General AG and Ambassador of the State of Isreal Johnathan Peled 75 Office of the Attorney-General Report Courtesy Calls in 2017 Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Senator the Hon.
Allyson Maynard-Gibson 76 Office of the Attorney-General Report STAFF PHOTOS Office of the Attorney-General Report Computer Technicians L–R: Shonique Sweeting, Roscoe Deveaux Administration Secretaries L–R: Kimberley Adderley, Judymae Brice, Anna Hall, Danae Wallace RGD Staff Back Row L–R: Tanico Hunter, Sandra Gaitor Front Row L–R: Latoya Green, Tina Demeritte-Roye, Telca Rolle 78 Office of the Attorney-General Report E-Services Initiative Help Desk Staff Research Department: Dawne Sturrup, Brittany Rahming RGD Custodial Staff: Garth Lockhart, Shavonne Newbold 79 Office of the Attorney-General Report Office of the Attorney-General Registry L–R: Melissa Williams, Jacqueline Riley, Roosevelt Bennett, Antoinette Newton Copy Room Staff L–R: Patrice Pet-Rolle, Derek Inrgaham, Geneva McIntosh 80 Office of the Attorney-General Report Law Reform Commission Back Row L–R: Lamysha Cox, Gabrielle Allen, Destiny McKinney, Kenny Thompson, Rudesha Mackey, Karen Rahming Front Row L–R: Latoya Green, Tina Demeritte-Roye, Telca Rolle 81 Office of the Attorney-General Report OAG Security Officers L–R: Jason Sweeting, James Ingraham, Gilbert Saunders RDG Security Staff Back Row L–R: Mr. McKinny, Mr. Bernard, Mr. Rolle Front Row: Bernadette Morris 82 Office of the Attorney-General Report RDG Staff L–R: Kendrea Demeritte, E. Sallyann Lockhart, Jegira Sutherland Office Management L–R: Christine Johnson, Nicole Allen, Louise Mackey, Robert Reckley, Ronica Montreuil, Amelio Riley, Monique Taylor, Martin Rolle, Lucinda Rolle 83 Office
 of the Attorney-General Report Civil Chambers Back Row L–R: Camille Hall Ferguson, Themonique Nottage, Genae Nottage, Karen Dorsette, Ryan Albury, Shari Moxey Front Row L–R: Christine Brown, Jacinta Butler, Danya Parker-Wallace, Shantell Taylor Civil Litigation L–R: David Higgins, Celestine Williamson, Charrah Rolle, Franklyn Williams, Portia Roberts, Kayla Green-Smith 84 Office of the Attorney-General Report Civil Litigation Back Row L–R: Themonique Nottage, David Higgins, Kenya Smith, Franklyn Williams, Kayla Green-Smith, Kirklyn Mackey Front Row L–R: Anastacia Hepburn, Anastacia Minnis 85 Office of the Attorney-General Report Criminal Section Back Row L–R: Laverne Cooper, Kendra Kelly, Darrell Taylor, Cephia Pinder-Moss, Rosalee Ferguson, Timothy Bailey, Viola Barnett, Bradford McKenzie, Desiree Ferguson, Joel Seymour, Maria Zancolla, Terry Archer Front Row L–R: Eucal Bonaby, Raquel Whyms, Vernal Collie, Garvin Gaskin, Alicia Delancy, Jemecka Basden 86 Office of the Attorney-General Report APPENDICES Office of the Attorney-General Report Appendix A: Year 2012 Jul 1 2011 College of The Bahamas (Amendment) Act 2012 Jun 18 2012 Payment Systems Act 2012 2012-0001 2012-0007 Feb 1 2012 Bail (Amendment) (No.
2) Act 2012 Apr 30 2012 Companies (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0002 2012-0008 Apr 30 2012 Judges Remuneration and Pensions (Amendment) Act 2012 Feb 7 2012 Modification of Provisions (Mayaguana Island Developers Limited) Act 2012 2012-0003 2012-0009 Mar 13 2012 Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Act 2012 Jun 27 2012 2012-0004 Appropriation (Revenue Account Expenses) (2012/2013) Act 2012 2012-0011 Jun 18 2012 Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0005 Jun 27 2012 Appropriation (Capital Development) (2012/2013) Act 2012 2012-0012 Jun 18 2012 Bills of Exchange (Amendment) Act 2012 Jun 27 2012 2012-0006 Supplementary Appropriation (2011/2012) (Recurrent Account Expenses) Act 2012 2012-0013 88 Office of the Attorney-General Report Jun 27 2012 Tariff (Amendment) Act 2012 Aug 24 2012 Industries Encouragement (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0014 2012-0020 Jun 27 2012 Stamp (Amendment) Act 2012 Aug 24 2012 Police Force (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0015 2012-0021 Jan 1 2013 Real Property Tax (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0016 Aug 24 2012 College of The Bahamas (Amendment) (No.
2) Act 2012 2012-0022 Aug 24 2012 Tariff (Amendment) (No.

2) Act 2012 Sept 1 2012 Immigration (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0017 2012-0023 Aug 24 2012 Stamp (Amendment) (No.

2) Act 2012 Oct 1 2012 Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0018 2012-0024 Aug 24 2012 Real Property Tax (Amendment) (No.
2) Act 2012 Nov 26 2012 Financial Administration and Audit (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0019 2012-0025 89 Office of the Attorney-General Report Dec 12 2012 Constitutional Referendum (Amendment) Act 2012 Dec 12 2012 2012-0026 Beach Wardens (Continuous Service)(No.
2) (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0030 Not in Force Civil Aviation (Amendment) Act 2012 Feb 1 2013 Maritime Marriage (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0027 2012-0031 Feb 20 2013 Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0028 Dec 28 2012 Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0032 Jan 1 2013 Local Government (Amendment) Act 2012 2012-0029 90 Office of the Attorney-General Report 91 Office of the Attorney-General Report Appendix B: Year 2013 Apr 1 2013 Companies (Amendment) Act 2013 Apr 12 2013 Excise (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0001 2013-0007 Apr 1 2013 Partnership (Amendment) Act 2013 Sept 1 2012 Excise Stamp (Tobacco Products) Control Act 2013 2013-0002 2013-0008 Apr 1 2013 Trustee (Amendment) Act 2013 May 17 2013 Randol Fawkes Labour Day Act 2013 2013-0003 2013-0009 Apr 1 2013 Business Licence (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0004 Jul 1 2013 Appropriation (Revenue Account Expenses) (2013/2014) Act 2013 2013-0010 Apr 12 2013 Tariff (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0005 Apr 12 2013 Real Property Tax (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0006 Jul 1 2013 Appropriation (Capital Development) (2013-2014) Act 2013 2013-0011 Jul 1 2013 Business Licence (Amendment) (No 3) Act 2013 2013-0012 92 Office of the Attorney-General Report Jul 1 2013 Financial Administration and Audit (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0013 Jul 1 2013 City of Nassau Revitalization (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0019 Jul 1 2013 Bridge Authority (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0014 Jul 1 2013 Family Islands Development Encouragement (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0020 Jul
 1 2013 Insurance (Amendment) Act 2013 Jul 1 2013 Savings Bank (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0015 2013-0021 Jul 1 2013 Clifton Heritage Authority (Amendment) Act 2013 Jul 1 2013 Electricity (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0016 2013-0022 Jul 1 2013 Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0017 Jul 1 2013 Customs Management (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0023 Jul 1 2013 The Bahamas Maritime Authority (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0018 Jul 1 2013 Excise Act 2013 2013-0024 93 Office of the
 Attorney-General Report Jul 1 2013 Firearms (Amendment) Act 2013 Oct 10 2013 Evidence (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0025 2013-0031 Jul 1 2013 Police Force (Amendment) Act 2013 Sept 25 2013 Supreme Court (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0026 2013-0032 Jul 1 2013 Tariff Act 2013 2013-0027 Oct 11 2013 Segregated Accounts Companies (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0034 Jul 1 2013 Stamp (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0028 Nov 1 2013 International Tax Cooperation (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0035 Aug 20 2013 Real Property Tax (Amendment) Act 2013 Nov 1 2013 Insurance (Amendment) Act 2013 2013-0029 2013-0036 Oct 10 2013 Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Act 2013 Sept 25 2013 Stem Cell Research and Therapy Act 2013 2013-0030 2013-0037 94 Office of the Attorney-General Report Nov 19 2013 National Training Agency Act 2013 2013-0039 Oct 11 2013 Majority Rule Public Holiday Act 2013 2013-0040 95 Office of the Attorney-General Report Appendix C: Year 2014 Oct 1 2014 Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Act 2014 Aug 11 2014 Correctional Services Act 2014 2014-0001 2014-0008 Nov 10 2014 Justice Protection (Amendment) Act 2014 May 14 2014 Bahamas Spatial Data Infrastructure Act 2014 2014-0002 2014-0009 Oct 14 2014 Prevention of Bribery (Amendment) Act 2014 Oct 1 2014 Firearms (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0003 2014-0010 Jul 1 2014 Airport Authority (Amendment) Act 2014 Feb 5 2016 Evidence (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0004 2014-0011 May 14 2014 Forestry (Amendment) Act 2014 Aug 26 2015 Child Protection (Amendment) Act
 2014 2014-0006 2014-0012 Not in Force Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2014 May 8 2014 Tariff (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0007 2014-0013 96 Office of the Attorney-General Report May 8 2014 Excise (Amendment) Act 2014 Jul 1 2014 Stamp (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0014 2014-0020 Nov 12 2015 Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2014 Jul 1 2014 Excise (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2014 2014-0015 2014-0021 June 12 2014 Industrial (Validation of Trade Unions) Act 2014 2014-0016 Jul 1 2014 Excise Stamp (Tobacco Products) Control
 (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0022 Jul 1 2014 Appropriation (Revenue Account Expenses) (2014-2015) Act 2014 Jul 1 2014 Spirits and Beer Manufacture (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0017 2014-0023 Jul 1 2014 Appropriation (Capital Development) (2014-2015) Act 2014 2014-0018 Jul 1 2014 Tariff (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2014 2014-0019 Jul 1 2014 Business Licence (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0024 Jul 1 2014 Banks and Trust Companies Regulation (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0025 97 Office of the Attorney-General Report Jul 1 2014 Bridge Authority (Amendment) Act 2014 Oct 6 2014 Value Added Tax Act 2014 2014-0026 2014-0032 Oct 10 2014 Financial Transactions Reporting (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0027 Jan 1 2015 Tariff (Amendment) (No.3) Act 2014 2014-0033 Jul 9 2014 Bahamas Protected Areas Fund Act 2014 Jan 1 2015 Excise (Amendment) (No.3) Act 2014 2014-0028 2014-0034 Nov 3 Medical Act 2014 2014 2014-0029 Jan 18 2016 Companies (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0035 Mar 25 2015 Derelict Motor Vehicles (Disposal) (Amendment) Act 2014 Sept 19 2014 Investment Funds (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0037 2014-0030 Nov 3 2014 Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities) Act 2014 Sept 19 2014 Investment Condominium Act 2014 2014-0038 2014-0031 98 Office of the Attorney-General Report Oct 1 2014 Exempted Limited Partnership (Amendment) Act 2014 Nov 5 2014 Abolition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences Act 2014 2014-0039 2014-0047 Nov 24 Gaming Act 2014 2014 2014-0040 Mar 25 2015 Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches
 Authority Act 2014 2014-0049 Nov 24 2014 Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0041 Nov 5 2014 Juries (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0044 Nov 5 2014 Bail (Amendment) Act 2014 2014-0045 Nov 10 2014 Evidence (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2014 2014-0046 99 Office of the Attorney-General Report Appendix D: Year 2015 Mar 20 2015 Electricity (Amendment) Act 2015 Jun 1 2015 Business Licence (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0001 2015-0007 Apr 23 2015 National Tripartite Council Act 2015 Jun 1 2015 Co-operative Societies
 (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0002 2015-0008 May 11 2015 Immigration (Amendment) Act 2015 Jun 1 2015 Bahamas Co-operative Credit Union Act 2015 2015-0003 2015-0009 Jun 1 2015 Central Bank of The Bahamas (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0004 Jun 2 2015 Juries (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0010 Jun 1 2015 Financial Transactions Reporting (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0005 Jun 2 2015 Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0011 Jun 1 2015 Banks and Trust Companies Regulations (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0006 Oct 21 2015 Education Loan Authority (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0012 100 Office of the Attorney-General Report Oct 1 2015 Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants Act 2015 2015-0013 Jul 1 2015 Real Property Tax (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0022 Jul 1 2015 Tariff (Amendment) Act 2015 Jul 1 2015 Business License (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0016 2015-0023 Jul 1 2015 Stamp (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0017 Jul 1 2015 Banks and Trust Companies Regulation (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0024 Jul 1 2015 Spirits and Beer Manufacture (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0018 Jul 1 2015 Customs Management (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0019 Jul 1 2015 City of Nassau Revitalization (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0025 Jul 1 2015 Family Islands Development Encouragement (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0026 Jul 1 2015 Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act 2015 Jul 1 2015 Passenger Tax (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0021 2015-0027 101 Office of the Attorney-General Report Jul 1 2015 Financial Administration and Audit (Amendment) Act 2015
 2015-0028 Jul 1 2015 Port Authorities (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0029 Aug 12 2015 Hawksbill Creek, Grand Bahama (Deep Water Harbour and Industrial Area) (Extension of Tax Exemption Period) (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0035 Jul 1 2015 Local Government (Amendment) Act 2015 Aug 12 2015 Health and Safety at Work (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0030 2015-0037 Jul 1 2015 Water and Sewerage Corporation (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0031 Not in Force Travelers Currency Declaration Act 2015 2015-0038 Jul 1 2015 Parliamentarians
 (Constituency Office Allowance) (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0032 Not in Force Trade Marks Act 2015 2015-0039 Feb 5 2016 Evidence (Amendment) Act 2015 Not in Force Patents Act 2015 2015-0040 2015-0033 102 Office of the Attorney-General Report Not in Force Copyright (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0041 Jan 28 2015 Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0047 Not in Force False Trade Description Act 2015 2015-0042 Jan 28 Electricity Act 2015 2015 2015-0048 Not in Force Integrated Circuits Act 2015 Jan 28 2015 Electricity Rate Reduction Bond Act 2015 2015-0043 2015-0049 Not in Force Geographical Indication Act 2015 2015-0044 Nov 4 2015 Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0045 Jan 10 2016 Rehabilitation of Offenders (Amendment) Act 2015 2015-0046 103 Office of the Attorney-General Report Appendix E: Year 2016 Mar 1 2016 National Honours Act 2016 Not in Force Animal Health and Production Act 2016 2016-0001 2016-0007 May 1 2016 Petroleum Act 2016 2016-0002 May 1 2016 Sovereign Wealth Fund Act 2016 2016-0003 Jun 24 2016 Hawksbill Creek Grand Bahama (Deep Water Harbour and Industrial Area) ( Extension of Tax Exemption Period (Amendment) Act 2016 2016-0008 Not in Force Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority Act 2016 Jun 24 2016 Bail (Amendment) Act 2016 2016-0009 2016-0004 Not in Force Food Safety and Quality Act 2016 Jul 1 2016 Tariff (Amendment) Act 2016 2016-0005 2016-0012 Not in Force Plant Protection Act 2016 Jul 1 2016
 Excise (Amendment) Act 2016 2016-0006 2016-0013 104 Office of the Attorney-General Report Jul 1 2016 Excise Stamp Control (Amendment) Act 2016 Jul 1 2016 Real Property Tax (Waiver of Tax) Act 2016 2016-0014 2016-0020 Jul 1 2016 Stamp (Amendment) Act 2016 2016-0015 Jul 1 2016 Financial Administration and Audit (Amendment) Act 2016 2016-0021 May 25 2016 Stamp (Surcharge Amnesty) Act 2016 2016-0016 Oct 3 2016 Civil Aviation Act 2016 2016-0022 Jul 1 2016 Stamp (First Home Exemption) Act 2016 Oct 3 2016 Airport
 Authority (Amendment) Act 2016 2016-0017 2016-0023 Jul 1 2016 Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act 2016 Not in Force University of The Bahamas Act 2016 2016-0018 2016-0024 Jul 1 2016 Custom Management (Amendment) Act 2016 Not in Force Cancer (Registration) Act 2016 2016-0019 2016-0025 105 Office of the Attorney-General Report Oct 1 2016 Buildings Regulation (Amendment) Act 2016 2016-0026 May 4 2016 Grand Bahama (Port Area) Investment Incentives Act 2016 2016-0030 Aug 26 2016 Pensions (Amendment) Act 2016 2016-0027 Not in Force Advance Passenger Information System Act 2016 2016-0031 Aug 26 2016 Public Service (Amendment) Act 2016 Aug 26 2016 Legal Profession (Amendment) Act 2016 2016-0028 2016-0032 Not in Force National Health Insurance Act 2016 2016-0029 106 Office of the Attorney-General Report Office of the Attorney-General Report OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL REPORT