Senior Partner Aziz Rahman explains to Law360 the need to reform the offence of misconduct in public office

With the Law Commission having recommended changes to the offence of misconduct in public office, Rahman Ravelli’s Aziz Rahman explained why reform was needed.

The Commission has suggested replacing the current offence with two new offences. It believes this will bring clarity to this area of law.

Aziz told Law360 that change was vitally important, as the current law is vague and confusing and does not identify what is meant by either misconduct or public office. With recent years having seen an increase in such prosecutions he believes there is an urgent need for clarification to ensure legislation is not overused or misused.

The two new proposed offences would, according to Aziz, would make it clear who may be liable and what constitutes misconduct. If they are introduced, he believes there will continue to be an increase in such prosecutions.

While the overall significance of the proposals is yet to be determined at this stage, Aziz said that they could be essential in ensuring misconduct in public office is dealt with properly by appropriate legislation. His comments were used in a Law360 article.