Editing Prosecutor (section)

===Directors of public prosecutions===
In most [[Commonwealth Nations]], the head of the prosecuting authority is known as the [[director of public prosecutions]] (DPP) and is appointed, not elected. A DPP may be subject to varying degrees of control by the [[attorney general]], a formal written directive which must be published.

In Australia, the Offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions institute prosecutions for [[indictable offence]]s on behalf of [[the Crown]].<ref>See ''Director of Public Prosecutions Act'' 1983 (Cth).</ref> At least in the case of very serious matters, the DPP will be asked by the police, during the investigation, to advise them on the sufficiency of evidence and may well be asked to prepare an application to the relevant court for search, listening device or telecommunications interception warrants.

More recent constitutions, such as [[Constitution of South Africa|South Africa's]], guarantee the independence and impartiality of the DPP.