SECP implements new manuals

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has implemented new manuals for its enforcement, adjudication and litigation functions, aimed at bringing greater transparency and efficiency, a statement said on Tuesday.
The new manuals for offsite surveillance and monitoring, inspection, inquiry and investigation adjudication and litigation have been made effective from March 1, 2015, it said.
The commission initiated work on this task in 2012.
SECP Chairman Zafar Hijazi said the across-the-board standardisation of this function is the first step towards improving the standards of all internal processes and procedures.
Previously, the functions of inspection, investigation and adjudication were performed by the same employees in the department, but under the new manuals, inspection and investigation have been separated from adjudication, which would enable in minimising biases, if any, in these functions, it said.
After separation, the inspection and investigation functions would be made more effective, eliminate duplication of efforts and introduce checks and balances, the statement said.
The SECP officers who will perform these functions would be formally trained as financial investigators, as is the norm in several developed international jurisdictions.
Accordingly, the financial investigation skills training programme is also in progress for the SECP employees performing the offsite surveillance, inspection and the investigation function.
The programme broadly covers investigative skills; financial skills; and legal skills, it added.
The Offsite surveillance and monitoring manual provides standardised guidelines to officers of the SECP who are involved in the offsite surveillance function of the commission, especially with respect to the legal framework they are operating within, the kind of triggers they may be required to note, etc.
The inspection manual consists of standardised guidelines for the SECP officers who may be authorised from time-to-time to carry out inspections on behalf of the commission. It will facilitate them use their legal powers effectively and credibly to conclude inspections in the best manner possible and to ensure that focused inquiries and investigations would in turn significantly enhance the commission’s capacity to enforce the laws it administers, it said.
The adjudication manual provides guidelines for the commission’s adjudicatory functions, including manner of issuing show-cause notices, conduct of hearings, etc.
The litigation management manual streamlines the litigation management process by introducing a standard mechanism for initiating and defending cases for and on behalf of the commission for a coordinated response and to prescribe a uniform and transparent reporting mechanism to ensure that the heads of individual departments and the SECP are regularly informed of the progress and outcome of the SECP’s litigation matters, it added.