The Commissioner of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption will now have powers to appoint state counsels and public Prosecutors, apart from the Director of Public Prosecutions, to handle criminal proceedings instituted by FICAC.

This after Cabinet approved amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code after a submission by the Interim Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum.

Cabinet had earlier approved a number of amendments to relevant legislations to assist FICAC and the courts to overcome a number of legal hindrances.

Khaiyum said that the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code will supplement the earlier amendments.

Under the amendments, the state counsels and public prosecutors appointed by the FICAC Commissioner shall only be subject to the directions of the FICAC Commissioner.