In common law, the principle of prosecutorial discretion allows public prosecutors a wide latitude to decide whether or not to charge a person for a crime, and which charges to file.[1] A similar principle in continental law countries is called the principle of opportunity.
There is a divide between countries where prosecutions are generally discretionary and where prosecutions are mandatory (known as the legality principle or compulsory prosecution).[2] In addition, in some countries prosecutors operate independently with more discretion vs in a hierarchical system that require more conformity.[3]
Countries following civil-law are predominately based on the principal of compulsory prosecution,[4] although the principle of opportunity is encoded in law in the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Slovenia, Belgian law and France. Some similar provisions exist in and in Estonian law. [5]
^"What is Prosecutorial Discretion?". Findlaw. April 11, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
^"THE INDEPENDENCE OF JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS: PERSPECTIVES AND CHALLENGES". European Commission for Democracy Through Law.
^Ligeti, Katalin (2019). Brown, Darryl K.; Turner, Jenia Iontcheva; Weisser, Bettina (eds.). "The Place of the Prosecutor in Common Law and Civil Law Jurisdictions". academic.oup.com. pp. 138–163. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190659837.013.9. ISBN 978-0-19-065983-7. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
^Ploom, Tristan (2000). "Principle of opportunity". Juridica (VI). Estonia: 369–376. ISSN 1406-1074. Retrieved 6 December 2009. One possibility for making the criminal procedure more speedy and effective in Estonia is the application of the principle of opportunity instead of the principle of legality which governs at present. The author also introduces the provisions concerning the principle of opportunity as proposed in the draft Estonian Criminal Procedure Act. Under the draft act, the principle should be applied as an exception rather than a rule
and 26 Related for: Prosecutorial discretion information
In common law, the principle of prosecutorialdiscretion allows public prosecutors a wide latitude to decide whether or not to charge a person for a crime...
RECASTING PROSECUTORIALDISCRETION. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology. 86, 3, 717, 1996. ISSN 0091-4169. "What is the definition of abuse of discretion? |...
case and instead to dismiss the charges [fr]. This principle of prosecutorialdiscretion in France is more similar to what is seen in common law countries...
threat to the rule of law. This concept is closely related to prosecutorialdiscretion. There is a divide between countries where prosecutions are inherently...
"to be unwilling to pursue". It is a type of prosecutorialdiscretion in common law, used for prosecutors' declarations that they are voluntarily ending...
First Circuit held in a 2019 decision that a prosecutor is not entitled to absolute prosecutorialdiscretion when performing purely administrative functions...
not constitute administrative action under PAJA, the exercise of prosecutorialdiscretion by the National Prosecuting Authority is subject to review under...
High Court stated that these two provisions expressly separate the prosecutorial function from the judicial function, and that they are coequal. As such...
finding of prosecutorial misconduct, although a 2013 investigation found that actual discipline for prosecutorial misconduct was lacking. Prosecutors are also...
memorandum from the Secretary of Homeland Security titled "Exercising ProsecutorialDiscretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children"...
Prosecutorial vindictiveness occurs where a prosecutor retaliates against a defendant for exercising a constitutional or statutory right by increasing...
deferred action. Judge Carolyn Dineen King dissented, arguing that prosecutorialdiscretion makes the case non-justiciable, and that there had been "no justification"...
disputed suspect due to NO evidence against him. The Canadian broad prosecutorialdiscretion has been reached unreasonably and much-criticized. Li was arrested...
incident described Alba's actions as self defense. Bragg, in his prosecutorialdiscretion, charged Alba with murder and requested bail at $500,000. The judge...
Judicial discretion is the power of the judiciary to make some legal decisions according to their discretion. Under the doctrine of the separation of...
permanent resident children. Wadhia, Shoba S. (2010). "The role of prosecutorialdiscretion in immigration law". Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal. 9:...
degree of judicial discretion, and the executive branch also has various discretionary powers including prosecutorialdiscretion. Per opinions released...
many cases, the exercise of prosecutorialdiscretion. A 2016 New York Times investigation revealed that some prosecutors charged substantial fees for...
thought. Instead, he argues that rising violent crime rates and prosecutorialdiscretion were major factors in the rise in America's incarceration rate...
that they have violated the rule are to be identified) Lack of prosecutorialdiscretion (for every plausibly accused person, it is determined whether the...
Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), a political appointee, used her prosecutorialdiscretion to dismiss all charges filed by NATCA. The United States Court...
this remedy in the law, later referred to as Deferred Action or Prosecutorialdiscretion. This program allows law-abiding individuals to remain in the United...
usually takes into account age and severity of offense ProsecutorialDiscretion: Prosecutors have the authority to file cases in juvenile court or criminal...
proceedings. The policy expands the Department of Homeland Security's prosecutorialdiscretion policy, focusing finite resources on criminals and other threats...
Criminal Referrals in the Federal System: An Empirical Study of ProsecutorialDiscretion". Stanford Law Review. 24 (6): 1036–1091. doi:10.2307/1227884....
Global Information