The Gambia 1996 Constitution (reviewed 2018)

CHAPTER XVIII. COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY

200. Commissions of Inquiry

1. The President may, whenever he or she deems it advisable, issue a Commission appointing one or more Commissioners and authorising such Commissioners to inquire into-
   1. the conduct of any public officer;
   2. the conduct of any District Chief or Alkalo;
   3. the conduct or management of any department or authority of the public service or any local government authority or Public Enterprise;
   4. any matter whatever arising in The Gambia in which an inquiry would, in the opinion of the President, be for the public good.
2. The National Assembly may request the President to establish a Commission of Inquiry for any of the purposes set out in subsection (1).
3. Except as may be ordered by the presiding Commissioner in the interest of public morality, public safety or public order, the proceedings of a Commission of Inquiry shall be held in public:Provided that the presiding Commissioner shall be entitled to exclude any particular person or persons for the preservation of order.

201. Presiding Commissioner

1. A person shall not be appointed a sole Commissioner or the Chairman of a Commission of Inquiry unless-
   1. he or she is, or has been, a judge of a superior court, whether in The Gambia or outside it;
   2. he or she is qualified to be appointed a judge of a superior court.
2. Where a Commission of Inquiry consists of more than two members, at least one Commissioner shall be a person who has special qualifications or knowledge in the field of the matter under investigation.

202. Function and powers of Commission

1. A Commission of Inquiry shall-
   1. make a full and impartial investigation into the matter in respect of which the Commission is established; and
   2. furnish in writing a report on the results of the inquiry, including a statement of the reasons leading to the conclusions of the Commission.
2. A Commission of Inquiry shall have all the powers, rights and privileges of a judge of the High Court at a trial in respect of-
   1. enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath, affirmation or otherwise;
   2. compelling the production of documents;
   3. issuing a commission or request for the examination of witnesses abroad, and
   4. making interim orders.
3. A Commissioner appointed under section 200 shall not be liable to any action or suit in respect of any matter or thing bona fide done or omitted to be done in the performance of his or her functions as a Commissioner.

203. Publication of report

On receipt of the report of a Commission of Inquiry-

1. the President shall within six months publish the report and his or her comments on the report, together with a statement of any action taken, or the reason for not taking any action, thereon; or
2. where the President refuses to publish the report for reasons of national security or otherwise in the public interest, he or she shall, within six months, publish a statement to that effect.

204. Adverse findings

1. Where a Commission if Inquiry makes an adverse finding against any person, it shall, at the time of submitting its report to the President, inform such person of the finding and the reasons therefor.
2. A person against whom any such adverse finding has been made may appeal against such finding to the Court of Appeal as of right as if the finding were a judgement of the High court; and on the hearing of the appeal the report shall be treated as if it were such a judgment.
3. An appeal under this section shall be made within three months of the appellant being informed of the adverse finding as provided by subsection (1) or such later time as the Court of Appeal may allow.

205. Immunities of witnesses

A witness before a Commission of Inquiry shall be entitled to the same immunities and privileges as if he or she were a witness in proceedings before the High Court.

206. National Assembly to make further provision

An Act of the National Assembly may make further provision for the purposes of this Chapter, and subject to any such Act, the owner conferred by any law to make rules of court for the superior courts shall be deemed to include power to make rules regulating the procedure and practice of all Commissions of Inquiry.