NCJ Number
224459
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 14 Issue: 2-3 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 133-143
Date Published
August 2008
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article explores the question of how far other court decisions are influenced by prosecutorial actions or what the courts' role is within Europe's criminal justice systems, specifically within full criminal proceedings and accelerated proceedings.
Abstract
The analysis shows that the Public Prosecution Services (PPS)/court relationship must be explored in order to legitimately determine the PPS role within a criminal justice system. It has been shown that the PPS can certainly be said to have a role supporting the courts in its work, sometimes exercising such influence that the courts' ability to master their workload must in some ways be attributed to preparatory work by the PPS. It is important to recognize the far-reaching influence the PPS has in such systems. The court/prosecution service relationships within Europe require close observation in order to understand how and what kind of criminal justice is actually being done. The study, which forms the focus of this thematic journal issue, focuses upon the role of prosecution services and thus centrally upon their independent powers. However, what is seen, to neglect to observe also the balance of power in working with other institutions, would be to oversee much of the information which provides key insights into what public prosecutions services really are. The court/prosecution service relationship is one such instance and is, for the most part, explored in this article. Providing information as to, e.g. what influence prosecutors in the 11 study countries have on what evidence is brought to court in "normal" (full criminal proceedings) and accelerated court proceedings, this chapter explores the balance of responsibilities in court rooms across Europe. Tables and references