The Examining Magistrate’s Function and Involvement in Investigative Matters

This article gives a brief overview of the division of roles during the investigative stage between Court, Public Prosecution Service (PPS) and Police. It explains the role either an Examining Magistrate or an Investigative Judge plays in Croatia, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, presenting his/her functions and involvement in criminal investigation and especially focussing on which actions require his/her approval.     

The Prosecution Service Function within the Hungarian criminal justice system

The national criminal justice system of Hungary is described. Special attention is paid to the Prosecution Service Function within this framework and its relationship to police and courts. The article not only refers to legal provisions but to the factual handling of criminal cases as well.     

The Prosecution Service Function within the Croatian Criminal Justice System

The national criminal justice system of Croatia is described. Special attention is paid to the Prosecution Service Function within this framework and its relationship to police and courts. The article not only refers to legal provisions but to the factual handling of criminal cases as well.     

The Prosecution Service Function within the Turkish Criminal Justice System

The national criminal justice system of Turkey is described. Special attention is paid to the Prosecution Service Function within this framework and its relationship to police and courts. The article not only refers to legal provisions but to the factual handling of criminal cases as well.     

The Prosecution Service Function within the Spanish Criminal Justice System

The national criminal justice system of Spain is described. Special attention is paid to the function of the Public Prosecution Services within this framework and its relationship to police and courts. The article not only refers to legal provisions but to the factual handling of criminal cases as well.     

The Prosecution Service Function within the Swiss Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system of Basel is described as a cantonal example for Switzerland. Special attention is paid to the Prosecution Service Function within this framework and its relationship to police and courts. The article not only refers to legal provisions but to the factual handling of criminal cases as well.     

Online Public Response to Dutch News About Money Laundering

In this paper we analyze how Dutch Public Prosecution’s press releases about money laundering and underground banking are received by producers and consumers of online news reports. First we take a closer look at how journalists (re)framed six official press releases in 75 news reports. It turns out that journalists do not regularly adopt the success frame that the Public Prosecution uses in its press releases. Furthermore, the role of the Public Prosecution Service or the police is downplayed. The moral message that “crime should not pay” receives no coverage in news reports. Second, we analyze how the news reports generated 276 online comments. We distinguish three ways in which online commenters respond to news reports; they (1) appreciate, (2) downplay or (3) condemn the authorities’ success. Commenters are particularly likely to downplay or condemn the police’s success. When a news report focuses on ‘underground bankers’, commenters often express a negative opinion about the effort to curb money laundering. It also appears that readers did not always understand the use of a term like underground banking.     

The system's rigged — or is it?

From the beginning of the Seventies until almost the end of the Eighties, the Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands concentrated a major part of its resources on combatting white collar and corporate crime. This effort climaxes in a number of spectacular fraud trials, involving in one case the directors of a large commercial bank, in another high-ranking public officials. Almost all were acquitted. As dramatically as interest in white collar and corporate crime had increased, so too did it decline at the end of the Eighties, until by now public interest in fraud is primarily concerned with social security frauds at one end of the scale, and money laundering by organised crime at the other. This article examines the rise and fall of the fraud-issue in Holland, the parts played by the Public Prosecution Service and the media, and the structural (economic and social) limitations to the criminalisation of white collar and corporate behaviour.     

两大法系狭义羁押启动制度探究及对我国的借鉴

狭义羁押是指逮捕（抓捕）犯罪嫌疑人后经由法庭或法官审查批准后决定的羁押,我国的狭义羁押指的是侦查机关决定拘留犯罪嫌疑人和检察机关决定逮捕犯罪嫌疑人后的羁押。羁押的启动应当是在充分遵循羁押基本原则的前提下,严格依照法律规定的羁押启动条件,并经过必要的司法审查的刑事诉讼程序。各国在捕押分离的前提下对羁押的条件和司法审查都有着严格的规定,对于完善我国的羁押制度,保障人权有着非常重要的借鉴意义。     

对我国控辩平等的检视与思考

控辩平等原则在我国法律制度和司法实践中还只是雏形,其与国际公约和司法准则对控辩平等的要求依然存在较大差距,甚至在某些方面尚未达到控辩平等之最低标准要求.在我国刑事诉讼法之再修改中,应当以控辩平等原则为基本原则,重构我国控辩关系及其相关体系,厘清控辩平等与刑事诉讼本质及其基础理论的关系,解读控辩平等的现代内涵,建立合理的刑事诉讼权力结构,扩张被指控人的辩护权,培养执法者正确的司法理念与适格的职业素养,研究决策者与社会公众在控辩平等原则构建方面的互动机制,为立法和司法实务提供参考.     

Prosecution decisions in cases of domestic violence involving children

Increasing attention is being paid to the problem of children as the secondary victims of domestic violence. It is now well documented that children suffer as a result of domestic violence. However, it has yet to be shown how, if at all, the presence of children as direct or indirect victims influences the decision-making of the police and prosecutors in those cases of domestic violence which enter the criminal justice process. The findings of an empirical study of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that shed light on this issue are discussed in this article. The research, which combined an analysis of case files with observations and discussions with prosecutors, suggests important differences between the approach of the police and CPS lawyers.     

The role of DNA in criminal indictments in Israel

In their investigations of criminal cases, law enforcement agencies rely heavily on forensic evidence. Numerous studies have examined the scientific and technological advancements of DNA testing, but little evidence exists on how the availability of DNA evidence influences prosecutors' decisions to move cases forward in the criminal justice system. We created a new database by juxtaposing data from the Forensics Division of the Israel Police, which recorded the presence (or not) of DNA profiles in criminal cases (n = 9862), and data on the indictment decision for each case (2008–2019). Rates of indictments are computed for each case, and trend lines are used to present variations in the rates of indictment decisions with and without DNA profiles. Approximately 15% of all criminal cases without DNA presented to the prosecutor's office are subsequently prosecuted, compared with nearly 55% of cases with DNA profiles. The presence of DNA evidence influences the prosecutor's decision to move a case forward in the criminal justice system. Utilizing a scientific approach to prosecute offenders is a welcome development; however, DNA evidence is not infallible, and caution must be exercised in regard to DNA's overuse in the legal system.     

关于控辩平等原则演进的思考

人类文明前行的足音,必然呼吁人类个体自由度的提高和主体平等地位的确立。在各国刑事诉讼领域控制犯罪与人权保障关系的演进中,控辩平等原则的基本精神经历了一个从无到有、从少到多的过程。这是政治民主与市场经济的发展对尊重人权和强调人的尊严的必然要求。而今,国际公认的司法原则是不得以牺牲司法公正或威胁基本人权为代价来控制犯罪或建立秩序。以此检视我国现行刑事诉讼制度,可以发现,控辩平等原则在我国法律制度和司法实践中还只是雏形,其与国际公约和司法准则对控辩平等的要求依然存在较大差距,甚至在某些方面尚未达到控辩平等之最低标准要求。     

公诉一体化机制改革述评

目前,我国正在推进公诉一体化的制度建设.公诉一体化有利于高效地追诉犯罪;防范公诉权滥用;防止外部的非法干预;保障被告人权利.其主要内容应当包括上级检察院的指令权、下级抖检察院的报告义务、公诉政策一体化和公诉人一体化.但是,在公诉一体化的同时应当保障公诉检察官的相对独立性.我国在推进公诉一体化机制改革时,一方面在改革内容上存在欠缺,另一方面忽视了保障公诉检察官的相对独立性,应当加以改进.     

Decision Support Within the Criminal Justice System

The Crown Prosecution Service forms a vital component of the criminal justice system, as the chief organization prosecuting on behalf of the State and therefore the public. This paper highlights those areas where the CPS has attracted most criticism, focusing on sources of inconsistency in decision-making and management practices which may be considered inappropriate in the provision of justice. An example of how new technology could be utilized to improve the service provided by the CPS is presented. This would increase consistency of decision-making by introducing an independent assessment of the 'realistic prospect of conviction' test in the form of a decision support system. The various artificial intelligence tools available are discussed, in addition to a brief summary of why a neural network was felt to be the most suitable for the task under consideration. Preliminary results of a practical test, undertaken using archived data collected from various magistrates'courts are disseminated,together with discussion of the issues raised. Key issues concerning the philosophical and social acceptability of utilizing such a system within the Crown Prosecution Service are addressed by reference to correspondence with representatives of various organizations within the criminal justice system. This method is adopted in order to illustrate problems, both real and perceived, with the notion of utilizing technological support in what is a crucial human process.     

The end of police prosecutions: Symptom of changing values in english criminal justice

This article contrasts the traditional English prosecutorial system, and its underlying values, with the new Crown Prosecution Service and the related values which have emerged from five years of official study and planning of prosecutorial reform. The traditional system reflected the English ideal of the amateur generalist. Under this system the police, acting as citizens, undertook most prosecutions, hiring legal assistance as needed. Ower the last twenty years, about three-quarters of the English police forces set up prosecuting solicitors departments. While these institutions give professional legal assistance to many police, they were purely local arrangements without statutory basis and legally similar to the traditional ad hoc arrangements. In 1986 the Crown Prosecution Service will be initiated. This is the product of a process of development which includes a Royal Commission, two governmental working parties, a white paper, a bill, and a managerial study. The result is a hierarchical structure of legal professionals independent of the police who will handle virtually all prosecutions. This prosecutorial structure exhibits the characteristics and values of modern rationalistic bureaucracy described by Max Weber. The adoption of these values in English criminal justice indicates the likelihood of change in other aspects of the system which rest on the conflicting traditional values.     

International Prosecution and National Bureaucracy: The Contest to Define International Practices Within the Danish Prosecution Service

This article explores how international ideals and practices of law enforcement come into conflict with national bureaucracies. Drawing on original interviews, the investigation demonstrates how the competition to define the role of international prosecution impacted career strategies as well as the actual administration of criminal law within the Danish Prosecution Service (DPS). The analysis shows that this competition is embodied in two competing groups of prosecutors situated in a wider national bureaucracy—itself subject to transformations that affect the very stakes of the contest to define the international. While the institutionalists build careers closely attuned to the systemic and increasingly lean‐management‐inspired requirements of the DPS, the dissident and consequently unsettled position of the activists leads them to craft alternative career strategies closely related to the emergence of new international fields of criminal law.     

Morality in criminal law and criminal procedure: Principles,doctrines, and court cases

One of the drawbacks of the current era of predominance of Positive Law over Natural law, is that the moral roots of criminal law are all too easily overlooked or even ignored. Yet one should always keep in mind that moral standards (and the related area of Natural Law) historically preceded any type of criminal legislation or judicial decisions. This Note describes some selected aspects of criminal law of the United States (both substantive and procedural), with occasional references to other countries where necessary. Particular attention is focused on criminal law court cases and on how they deal with morality. The author argues that much more attention should be paid to the fundamental relationship between moral values and criminal law.     

Police shootings. The Metropolitan Dade County experience from 1956 to 1982

Police shootings, or, when law enforcement officers shoot and kill criminal suspects, have been studied in metropolitan Dade County from 1956 to 1982. A total of 194 cases have been studied and analyzed according to age, race, sex, Spanish surname, alcohol and/or drugs detected at autopsy, and prior criminal arrest record of the victim. The reason(s) for the shooting and any agencies involved have also been noted. Finally, an appendix is included that provides guidelines for the forensic pathologist on how to approach a case.     

English Prosecutions: Twenty Years of Changing Institutions and Values

Twenty years ago England had a prosecutorial system founded upon traditional values. In 1986, a Crown Prosecution Service founded upon the values of modern rationalized bureaucracy will be introduced. In 1966, English prosecutions were overwhelmingly police conducted, often without legal assistance. By the mid-seventies, a majority of police forces had created ad hoc, non-statutory prosecuting solicitors departments. In 1986, a statutory professional prosecuting national bureaucratic service independent of the police will replace the traditional prosecutorial structures. This twenty-year change provides an excellent example of a Weberian movement from traditional to bureaucratic institutions and has enormous implications for further change in remaining traditionally based English criminal justice institutions.