Prosecutor (law)

Prosecutor (law)
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Name	Prosecutor

Prosecutor (law) is a legal officer who represents the state or sovereign in criminal proceedings and, in some systems, in civil actions and regulatory enforcement. Prosecutors pursue charges, present evidence, advise investigators, and make decisions that affect liberty, property, and public order in forums such as the International Criminal Court, Supreme Court of the United States, Old Bailey, and national courts like the Cour de cassation (France), Bundesverfassungsgericht, and Supreme Court of India. The role varies across jurisdictions such as the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, and institutions like the European Court of Human Rights and International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Role and functions

Prosecutors initiate and conduct prosecutions before bodies such as the Crown Court, District Court (United States), High Court of Australia, Constitutional Court of South Africa, and hybrid tribunals like the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia; they file indictments, present opening statements, examine witnesses, and argue sentencing before judges like those in the High Court of Justice (England and Wales), Federal Court of Canada, and Supreme Court of Japan. They advise investigators from agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Metropolitan Police Service, National Crime Agency, Deutsche Bundespolizei, Polícia Federal (Brazil), and Central Bureau of Investigation on evidence collection, search warrants, and extradition to courts such as the International Court of Justice or national magistrates. In administrative contexts prosecutors appear before bodies like the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Competition and Markets Authority and may bring enforcement actions under statutes like the Criminal Procedure Code (France), Code of Criminal Procedure (Japan), and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Types and titles of prosecutors

Titles vary: District attorney in many United States states, Crown prosecutor and Director of Public Prosecutions in the United Kingdom and former British Empire jurisdictions, Procureur général in France and Quebec, Prokuratura in Russia and several Eastern Europe states, Minister of Justice or Attorney General in cabinets such as those of Canada, Australia, India, and South Africa, and international titles like Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Specialized offices include the United States Attorney General, State Attorney General (United States), Special Counsel such as the Office of the Special Counsel (United States), anti-corruption prosecutors like Brazil’s Operation Car Wash prosecutors, public prosecutors in the Dutch Public Prosecution Service, military prosecutors in the Court Martial system, and regional prosecutors in federations like Germany’s Public Prosecutor General.

Appointment, tenure, and oversight

Selection mechanisms include election as with many District attorneys in the United States, appointment by heads of state or cabinets as with the Attorney General (United Kingdom), judicial appointment processes like nominations to the Procurator Fiscal Service in Scotland, and international appointment by assemblies such as the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute. Tenure rules differ: fixed terms in offices like the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, removal processes involving parliaments such as the U.S. Senate, impeachment procedures in systems like Argentina or Philippines, and discipline by independent bodies like the Bar Council of India, Law Society of England and Wales, and Conseil supérieur de la magistrature (France). Oversight and review occur through mechanisms including judicial review by the European Court of Human Rights, inspectorates like the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, and legislative inquiries in bodies such as the United States Congress or the House of Commons (United Kingdom).

Prosecutorial discretion and charging decisions

Charging discretion arises in statutes and guidelines like the Crown Prosecution Service Code, the Department of Justice charging manuals, prosecutorial guidance of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, and doctrines developed in cases such as Brady v. Maryland and R v. Davy. Discretion governs plea bargaining strategies in systems influenced by the Sentencing Reform Act, diversion programs used in jurisdictions such as Portugal and New Zealand, and declination policies exercised by offices such as the United States Attorney’s Office and Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Ireland). Checks include prosecutorial review panels, grand juries in the United States, judicial oversight in courts like the High Court of Australia, and statutory constraints in codes like the Indian Penal Code and Criminal Procedure (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.

Trial and courtroom responsibilities

In court prosecutors present evidence, examine witnesses, call expert witnesses from institutions like Forensic Science Service and National Forensic Sciences University, and respond to defense motions in venues such as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, European Court of Human Rights, and national appellate courts including the Supreme Court of the United States and Supreme Court of Canada. They prepare indictments and briefs for judges from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council or national appeals courts, engage in cross-border cooperation via instruments like the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and organizations such as Interpol and the European Public Prosecutor's Office, and argue sentencing within frameworks like the United States Sentencing Commission guidelines and the Council of Europe standards.

Ethics, accountability, and misconduct

Prosecutors are bound by codes such as the American Bar Association Model Rules, the Bar Councils’ professional conduct rules, and national regulations enforced by bodies like the Conseil national des barreaux and Solicitors Regulation Authority. Notorious misconduct cases have arisen in prosecutions reviewed by courts including the Supreme Court of the United States in decisions like Giglio v. United States and national inquiries such as the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and commissions like the Fisk Inquiry; remedies include vacatur, disciplinary sanctions, and criminal charges brought by organs like the Independent Commission Against Corruption and national attorney disciplinary tribunals.

Comparative systems by jurisdiction

Common law systems such as those in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand feature adversarial prosecutors like Crown prosecutors and District attorneys; civil law systems in France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Spain often have career magistrates in the Procurature or Prokuratura model. Hybrid and international tribunals—International Criminal Court, Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia—combine elements of both. Federal systems differentiate roles among federal prosecutors like the United States Attorney and state or provincial prosecutors such as State’s Attorney (United States), while supranational initiatives like the European Public Prosecutor's Office and mutual legal assistance frameworks harmonize cross-border prosecution.

Category:Legal occupations