The Gambia Bar Association criticised the proposed...

The Gambia Bar Association criticised the proposed amendment bills on criminal and civil proceedings to be tabled for enactment to the National Assembly. The bills, according to the Bar Association, seeks to extend the jurisdiction of the Magistrates Courts beyond their present purview. "The Criminal Procedure Code amendments Act No. 2 for example would now give powers to the magistrates to try all offences except treason. This means that unlike before, magistrates would now try offences like murder, manslaughter, rape, arson and other serious offences. It would also give them power to impose any sentences known to law including the death penalty," the Bar Association explained.