Editing Prosecutor (section)

== Civil law jurisdictions ==
Prosecutors are typically [[civil servant]]s who possess a [[academic degree|university degree]] in law and additional training in the administration of justice. In some countries, such as [[France]] and [[Italy]], they are classed as judges.

=== Belgium ===
In Belgium, the Senior Crown prosecutor (''Procureur du Roi/Procureur des Konings'' in trial courts and ''Procureur Général/Procureur-Generaal'' in appellate courts) is supported by subordinate Crown prosecutors (''substituts/substituten''). They open preliminary investigations and can hold a suspect in custody for up to 48 hours. When necessary, a Crown prosecutor will request an examining judge (''juge d'instruction''/''onderzoeksrechter'') be appointed to lead a judicial inquest. With a judge investigating, Crown prosecutors do not conduct the interrogatories, but simply lay out the scope of the crimes which the judge and law enforcement forces investigate (''la saisine''). Like defense counsel, Crown prosecutors can request or suggest further investigation be carried out. The Crown prosecutor is in charge of policy decisions and may prioritize cases and procedures as need be.

During a criminal trial, prosecutors must introduce and explain the case to the trier of fact, i.e., judges or jury. They generally suggest a reasonable sentence which the court is not obligated to follow; the court may decide on a tougher or softer sentence. Crown prosecutors also have a number of administrative duties.  They may advise the court during civil actions. Under Belgian law, judges and prosecutors are judicial officers with equal rank and pay. The Minister of Justice can order a criminal investigation but cannot prevent one (''droit d'injonction positive''/''positief injunctierecht'').

=== Brazil ===
{{main|Public Prosecutor's Office (Brazil)}}

In Brazil, the public prosecutors form a body of autonomous civil servants—the Public Ministry (''Ministério Público'')—working both at the federal and state level. Members of the Federal Prosecution Service are divided in three ranks, according to the jurisdiction of the courts before which they officiate. Federal Prosecutors (''Procuradores da República'') officiate before single judges and lower courts, Federal Circuit Prosecutors (''procuradores regionais da República'') before federal appellate courts, and Associate Federal Prosecutors General (''subprocuradores gerais da República'') before superior federal courts. The [[Prosecutor General of the Republic (Brazil)|Prosecutor General of the Republic]] (''Procurador Geral da República'') heads the federal body, and tries cases before the [[Supreme Federal Court|Brazilian Supreme Court]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mpf.mp.br/atuacao-tematica/sci/dados-da-atuacao/links-tematicos/traducoes-oficiais-do-mpf|title=Traduções oficiais do MPF conforme Portaria PGR/MPF nº 618|access-date=28 November 2021|archive-date=29 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021459/http://www.mpf.mp.br/atuacao-tematica/sci/dados-da-atuacao/links-tematicos/traducoes-oficiais-do-mpf|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the state level, the career is usually divided in state prosecutors (''promotores de Justiça'') who practice before the lower courts and state apellate prosecutors (''procuradores de Justiça'') who practice before the state courts of appeals. There are also military prosecutors whose career, although linked to the federal prosecutors, is divided in a manner similar to state prosecutors. In Brazil, the prosecutors' main job is to promote justice, as such they have the duty of not only trying criminal cases, but, if during the trial, they become convinced of a defendant's innocence,  requesting the judge to acquit him. The prosecutor's office has always the last word on whether criminal offenses will or will not be charged, with the exception of those rare cases in which Brazilian law allows for private prosecution. In such cases, the prosecutor will officiate as ''custos legis'', being responsible to ensure that justice is indeed carried out. Although empowered by law to do so, prosecutors conduct criminal investigations only in major cases, usually involving police or public officials' wrongdoings. Also, they are in charge of external control over police activity and requesting the initiation of a police investigation.<ref>Article 129, preamble paragraphs VII and VIII of the {{cite web |url=http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicaocompilado.htm |title=Constitution of Brazil |access-date=7 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505161928/http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/ConstituicaoCompilado.htm |archive-date=5 May 2016 }}("São funções institucionais do Ministério Público: . . . (VII) exercer o controle externo da atividade policial, na forma da lei complementar mencionada no artigo anterior [Art. 128°]; (VIII) requisitar diligências investigatórias e a instauração de inquérito policial, indicados os fundamentos jurídicos de suas manifestações processuais; . . . .").</ref>

The power of individual prosecutors to hold criminal investigations was controversial and, although massively supported by judges, prosecutors and the general population, it was contested before the Supremo Tribunal Federal, but in 2015, this Court decided favorably to its power (RGE n. 593.727-MG). According to a 2012 law, the chief of police (''delegado de polícia''), as the police authority, is responsible for conducting the criminal investigation in Brazil by means of a police investigation (''inquérito policial'') or other procedure provided by law that has the purpose of ascertaining the circumstances, materiality, and authorship of criminal offenses.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2011-2014/2013/lei/l12830.htm |title=Law 12.830/2013 |access-date=8 November 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114152545/http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2011-2014/2013/lei/l12830.htm |archive-date=14 November 2016 }}.</ref> Similar provisions are found in the Code of Criminal Procedure<ref>Article 4 of the  {{cite web |url=http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/decreto-lei/Del3689.htm |title=Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure |access-date=7 August 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722232718/http://www.planalto.gov.br/CCIVIL_03/Decreto-Lei/Del3689.htm |archive-date=22 July 2012 }} ("A polícia judiciária será exercida pelas autoridades policiais no território de suas respectivas circunscrições e terá por fim a apuração das infrações penais e da sua autoria.").</ref> and in article 144 of the federal constitution.<ref>{{cite constitution
| article = 144
| section = IV
| polity = Brazil
| ratified = 1988
}} ("Às polícias civis, dirigidas por delegados de polícia de carreira, incumbem, ressalvada a competência da União, as funções de polícia judiciária e a apuração de infrações penais, exceto as militares.").</ref> Beside their criminal duties, Brazilian prosecutors are among those authorized by the Brazilian constitution to bring action against private individuals, commercial enterprises, and the federal, state and municipal governments, in the defense of minorities, the environment, consumers, and the civil society in general.

=== France ===
{{main |Ministère public (France)}}
{{See also|Parquet (legal)}}

In France, the Office of the Prosecutor includes a Chief Prosecutor (''Procureur de la République'' in trial courts and ''procureur général'' in [[appellate court]]s or the [[Court of Cassation (France)|Court of Cassation]]) and his deputies and assistants (''avocats généraux'' and ''substituts''). The Chief Prosecutor generally initiates preliminary investigations and, if necessary, asks that an examining judge (''[[inquisitorial system#France|juge d'instruction]]'') be assigned to lead a formal judicial investigation. When an investigation is led by a judge, the prosecutor plays a supervisory role, defining the scope of the crimes being examined by the judge and law enforcement forces. Like defense counsel, the chief prosecutor may [[petition]] or move for further investigation. During [[criminal proceedings]], prosecutors are responsible for presenting the case at trial to either the [[bench (law)|bench]] or the [[jury]]. Prosecutors generally suggest advisory sentencing guidelines, but the sentence remains at the court's discretion to decide, to increase or reduce as it sees fit. In addition, prosecutors have several administrative duties.

Prosecutors are considered magistrates under French law, as in most [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] countries. While the defense and the plaintiff are both represented by common lawyers, who sit (on chairs) on the courtroom floor, the prosecutor sits on a platform as the judge does, although he does not participate in deliberation. Judges and prosecutors are trained at the same school, and regard one other as colleagues.

=== Germany ===
In Germany, the ''[[Staatsanwaltschaft|Staatsanwalt]]'' ("state attorney") is a life-tenured public official in the senior judicial service belonging to the same [[corps]] as [[judge]]s. The Staatsanwalt heads pre-trial criminal investigations, decides whether to press a charge or drop it, and represents the government in criminal courts. The Staatsanwalt not only has the "professional responsibility" not to withhold exculpatory information, but is also required by law to actively determine such circumstances and to make them available to the defendant or the defense attorney. If the Staatsanwalt is not convinced of the defendant's guilt, the state attorney is required to plead against or in favor of the defendant according to the prosecutor's own assessment.<ref>RiStBV, No. 138/139.</ref> Prosecution is [[compulsory prosecution|compulsory]] if the prosecutor has sufficient evidence to convict.<ref>{{citation|volume=41|publisher=U. Chi. L. Rev.|page=468|date=1973–1974|title=The Rule of Compulsory Prosecution and the Scope of Prosecutorial Discretion in Germany|author=Herrmann, Joachim|url=http://heinonlinebackup.com/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/uclr41&section=33|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711161736/http://heinonlinebackup.com/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals%2Fuclr41&section=33|archive-date=11 July 2011}}</ref>

=== Italy ===
In Italy, a Prosecutor's Office is composed of a Chief Prosecutor (''procuratore capo'') assisted by deputies (''procuratori aggiunti'') and assistants (''sostituti procuratori''). Prosecutors in Italy are judicial officers just like judges and are ceremonially referred to as ''Pubblico Ministero'' ("Public Ministry" or P.M.). Italian Prosecutors officiate as ''[[custos legis]]'', being responsible to ensure that justice is indeed carried out. They are obligated under the Constitution to initiate preliminary investigations once they are informed or take personal notice of a criminal act—''[[notitia criminis]]''—or receive a bill of complaint. They can direct investigations or conduct them through orders and directives given to (judicial) police detectives, who can make their own parallel investigations in coordination with the Prosecutor. If enough evidence has been gathered in order to proceed, the prosecution is compulsory and it must move from preliminary investigations to initiate trial proceedings.<ref>{{citation|title=The Judiciary in the Italian Political Crisis|last=Guarnieri|first=Carlo|doi=10.1080/01402389708425179|journal=West European Politics|volume=20|issue=1|date=January 1997|pages=157–175}}</ref> At trial, the prosecuting attorney has to handle the prosecution but has an overarching duty to promote justice. In practice, this duty means that prosecutors are prohibited from withholding exculpatory evidence and must request that the judge acquit the defendant if, during the trial, the prosecutor becomes convinced of the defendant's innocence, or agrees that there is no evidence that proves his guilt beyond any reasonable doubt.

In appellate courts, the Office of the Prosecutor is called ''Procura Generale'' and the Chief Prosecutor the ''Procuratore Generale'' (PG). The ''Procuratore Generale presso la Corte di Cassazione'' is the Chief General Prosecutor before the [[Corte di Cassazione]], the Supreme Court of Italy. Prosecutors are allowed during their career to act in the other's stead, although a ruling by the [[Constitutional Court of Italy]] stated that prosecutors who wish to become judges must relocate to another region and are prohibited to sit or hear trials that they themselves initiated.

=== Japan ===
{{Main|Public Prosecutors Office (Japan)}}
In Japan, {{nihongo|Public Prosecutors|検察官|kensatsu-kan}} are professional officials who have considerable powers of investigation, prosecution, superintendence of criminal execution and so on. Prosecutors can direct police for investigation purposes, and sometimes investigate directly. Only prosecutors can prosecute criminals in principle, and prosecutors can decide whether to prosecute or not. High-ranking officials of the [[Ministry of Justice (Japan)|Ministry of Justice]] are largely prosecutors.

===Poland===
The highest-ranking prosecutor office of the [[Prokuratura]] in Poland is the [[Public Prosecutor General (Poland)|Prokurator Generalny]] ([[General Prosecutor]]), who is the chief of the Prokuratura Krajowa (National Public Prosecutor's Office). The GP has 5 deputies. The structure of Public Prosecution in Poland is four-level: ''Prokuratura Krajowa'' — National Public Prosecutor's Office; ''prokuratury regionalne'' — provincial public prosecutor's offices (11); ''prokuratury okręgowe'' — regional public prosecutor's offices (45); and ''prokuratury rejonowe'' — district public prosecutor's offices (358). Apart from a brief period between 2010 and 2016, the position of Public Prosecutor General has been held concurrently by the Minister of Justice.

=== South Korea ===
{{Main|Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea}}
Prosecutors are public officials who are members of the Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutors can conduct crime investigations directly or indirectly. They are responsible for the entire process of investigations and court prosecutions. Since Korean modern law was designed after civil law, the role of Korean prosecutors is similar or identical to that of European equivalents in commanding investigations, determining indictable cases and prosecuting process. A prosecutor has the power to prohibit a defendant or an accused individual from departing the Republic of Korea via an "international hold".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thekoreanlawblog.com/2015/05/fleeing-korea-while-under.html|title=Fleeing Korea while under Police/Prosecutor Investigation: International Hold in Korea|access-date=30 June 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707201249/http://www.thekoreanlawblog.com/2015/05/fleeing-korea-while-under.html|archive-date=7 July 2016}}</ref>

===Sweden===
In Sweden, public prosecutors are lawyers who work out of the [[Swedish Prosecution Authority]] ({{langx|sv|Åklagarmyndigheten}}) and direct police investigations of serious crimes. For all criminal cases, public prosecutors decide arrests and charges on behalf of the public and are the only public officers who can make such decisions. Plaintiffs also have the option of hiring their own special prosecutor (''enskilt åtal''). The exception is cases concerning crimes against the freedom of the press for which the [[Chancellor of Justice (Sweden)|Chancellor of Justice]] acts as the prosecuting attorney. In court, the prosecutor is not necessarily in an adversarial relationship to the defendant, but is under an obligation to investigate and present information that may incriminate or exonerate the defendant. The prosecutor is not a judicial officer, nor do they participate in the private deliberations of the court. Public prosecutors are the only public officers who can decide to appeal cases to [[Courts of appeal in Sweden|appellate courts]]. Otherwise, appeals are initiated by defense counsel, the plaintiff, their representatives, and other parties to the case (''målsäganden''). When a case has been decided by an appellate court, the right to appeal to the [[Supreme Court of Sweden|Supreme Court]] passes from the case's prosecutor to the [[Prosecutor-General of Sweden|Prosecutor-General]] ({{langx|sv|Riksåklagaren}}).