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St. Ann Municipal Corporation Office of the Contractor General November 2017
In relation to the common law offence of misconduct in public office, there are certain elements which
should be established as outlined in the case of
Attorney General's Reference No 3 of 2003
178
. The offence
is committed when: (1) a public officer acting as such, (2) wilfully neglects to perform his duty and/or
wilfully misconducts himself, (3) to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public's trust in the
office holder, (4) without reasonable excuse or justification.
Having regard to the foregoing discourse, the question which must be asked is whether the act of
recommending the award of award of contracts to persons affiliated with one’s political party or
organization constitutes cronyism and/or favouritism and whether same amounts to misconduct in public
office.
The OCG further highlights that ‘willful neglect’ is also a form of misconduct in public office as was
highlighted in the case of
R v Dytham
179
. In this case a police officer was held to have been correctly
convicted when he made no move to intervene during a disturbance in which a man was kicked to death.
Additionally, as noted in the mentioned case, the test is a subjective one and the public officer must be
aware that his/her behaviour is capable of being misconduct.
‘Ethical Principles Governing the Conduct of Members of Government’
MINISTRY PAPER No. 19 / 2002 entitled “
CONDUCT OF MINISTERS
”, establishes several
principles by which “...
all Members of the Government are expected to adhere
” and which should
“
govern the activities of Members of the Government in their day-to-day business
.” These principles
include:
“
Selflessness
: Holders of public Office should take decisions
solely in terms of the public interest.
It is an offence to do so
178
[2004] EWCA Crim 868
179
[1979] QB 722