The Changing Role of Prosecutors in National and Emerging Supra-National ContextsThe work of prosecutors is proving, even in European legal orders, to be increasingly decisive for the way in which criminal proceedings are dealt with and therewith also the effect criminal justice systems as a whole have. In the USA the impact prosecutors have, in particular via their use of plea-bargaining is well known. Given the dynamic development of the prosecutorial role in European systems, comparative research offers great learning potential. This project compares the effect of prosecutorial work on both sides of the Atlantic and draws lessons which can be learned via this perspective. In this way best practices for effective prosecutorial practice in line with human rights ideals are identified. |
| Project category: | Research project |
| Organizational status: | Individual project |
| Project time frame: | Project commences: 2009 Project ends: 2012 |
| Project status: | Planning |
| Project language(s): | English |
| Legal system(s): | USA, various national European systems, European law |
| Structure: | Prosecutors, legal comparison, criminal procedural law, European public prosecutor |
Head(s) of project:
- Dr. Marianne Wade, LL.B. [Email]
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Prof. Erik Luna
Washington and Lee University School of Law
The prosecutorial function has changed dramatically and become of decisive importance in many legal orders due to the overloading of modern criminal justice systems. Prosecutors – and not judges who in most systems are assigned a responsibility to be objective and thus to guarantee adherence to human rights - are now responsible for making decisive and in some cases even case-ending decisions behind closed doors. As a first step this project rekindles a trans-Atlantic dialogue about the working practice and effect of prosecutors in criminal justice systems. By means of comparative analysis of a number of national practices, lessons about the most effective, human rights oriented practice for European and US American prosecutors are to be discerned.
Problems associated with prosecutorial practice at the national level gain a new dimension in relation to the tasks prosecutors increasingly face today. This is particular importance in relation to developments within the European Union. When prosecutors co-operate at the European level, not only their work but also the issues surrounding (the lack of) transparence and accountability of criminal proceedings become more complex. Developments within the so-called third pillar have so far led to criticism that state institutions including prosecutors are able to act more easily in a space devoid of sufficient defence rights. Since the Treaty of Lisbon came into force the discussion surrounding a European Public Prosecutor’s Office has gained new potency. With these developments the need for analysis and scientifically based discussion of the prosecutorial role has gained new urgency.
Although the EU and related criminal justice developments are certainly a unique phenomenon, it is not one without parallels. In particular US American development has previously raised similar issues. The aim of this project is to revisit the US American debate on federalism in order to draw potential lessons for the developing European criminal justice structures.
Central topics for this comparative project are for example:
- the division of responsibility between federal and state institutions
- the interaction of federal investigative and prosecutorial offices with state institutions and courts
- communication
- co-operation
- co-ordination of investigations requiring participation of several states or states and the federal level etc.
- Resolution of jurisdictional conflicts
- avoidance of negative jurisdiction conflicts
- effective protection of federal/supra-national interests via state institutions
The project is carried out in co-operation with Prof. Erik Luna from Washington and Lee University School of Law and is funded by the Trans-Coop Programme of the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung.