Office of Public Prosecutions Definition

This type of office also exists in mainland China, Taiwan and Macao (which continues to follow the Portuguese legal system), as well as in some Central European countries, including Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland and the Czech Republic. In the Turks and Caicos Islands, the position of Attorney General was recreated by the 2011 Constitution. Previously, the Attorney General had control over the application of the law. [8] [9] The current director of the prosecution is Jillian Williams. [10] It is customary for those who hold the position of Commonwealth or State DPP to be subsequently appointed to a senior judicial office. Examples include Mark Weinberg, now a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria; Michael Rozenes, Chief Justice of the Victoria County Court from 2002 to 2015; Brian Martin, now Chief Justice of the Northern Territory; John McKechnie, now a Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia; and Paul Coghlan, now a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. In some countries, the prosecutor takes over the investigation as soon as an offence has been committed. In both the United States and Russia, the prosecutor is largely responsible for police investigations, in which he must ensure that the guaranteed rights of the accused are protected. In England, most prosecutions are conducted by the police on the basis of complaints to them; The most serious crimes, such as murder, are prosecuted by a judicial official. The English procedure does not centralise all prosecutions in a single official or body and is therefore different from the system used in Scotland and continental European countries, as well as from the American system.

In Canada, the prosecutor`s office in each province is responsible for law enforcement. In Ontario, the local prosecutor`s office is responsible for criminal matters within the Criminal Law Division. Only British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Quebec (a Civil Code jurisdiction) have a Director of the Attorney General`s Office. In Scottish law, the Attorney General is the Lord Advocate, who heads the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service. All police investigations are nominally run by the Lord Advocate and the local public prosecutor`s office, and all prosecutions are conducted on behalf of the Lord Advocate. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) is a federal agency created on December 12, 2006, when the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, enacted as part of the Federal Accountability Act, came into force. The Act separated the conduct of the Office of the Federal Prosecutor from the Department of Justice and created the Office of the Director of the Office of the Attorney General (officially known as the Public Prosecution Service of Canada). The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official responsible for prosecuting crimes in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is primarily used in jurisdictions that are or have been members of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Public Prosecutor`s Office is composed of all judges who sit in the courts and are responsible for representing the interests of society, maintaining public order and enforcing the law.

The Public Prosecutor`s Office is hierarchical (Prosecutor General, Prosecutor, Deputy Prosecutor, Deputy Prosecutor) and reports to the Minister of Justice. He does not enjoy the same absolute security of office as judges (judges who cannot be transferred, suspended or dismissed without their opinion, except for disciplinary or health reasons). Public prosecutors` offices are criminal judicial bodies attached to the judiciary. In South Africa, prosecutions are conducted by the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The NDPP is supported by a President and CEO, Deputy Ministers, Regional DPPs and several Special Directors. The DPP`s office operates at arm`s length from government. The ultimate responsibility for authorizing prosecutions rests with the Attorney General. However, since this is a political position and in most cases it is desirable for a non-political (public) position to fulfill this function, the Attorney General`s enforcement powers are generally delegated to the DPP. In most U.S.

states and local jurisdictions, prosecutors are elected. At the federal level, district prosecutors are de facto members of the executive branch of government; They are usually replaced when a new administration takes office. Prosecutors, whether elected or appointed, often face political pressure. Efforts have been made in Japan and Germany to protect the office from this pressure. The creation of the PPSC reflects the decision to make transparent the principle of the independence of the Public Prosecutor`s Office, free from undue influence. The PPSC`s mandate is set out in the Office of the Attorney General Act. The Act requires the PPSC to advise law enforcement agencies and act as prosecutors in matters brought by the Attorney General of Canada on behalf of the Crown. In addition, the mandate includes initiating and prosecuting on behalf of the Crown for offences under the Canadian Elections Act.