Misplaced Pages

#783216

146-399: A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system , which is adopted in common law , or inquisitorial system , which is adopted in civil law . The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial against the defendant , an individual accused of breaking the law. Typically, the prosecutor represents

292-563: A conveyancer , and allows any individual, corporation or employee of a corporation to act as a conveyancer if they or the corporation is suitably qualified. Qualified people are defined as solicitors , barristers , licensed conveyancers and notaries , as well as any companies and incorporated bodies found in Section 9 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 . These people can apply to become authorised conveyancers by applying to

438-628: A "grossly inflated and inaccurate legal bill" which was reduced to £67,000 without Davies complaining. Despite this the Law Society took no disciplinary action, allowing Davies to resign from the council on grounds of ill-health with his reputation intact. An investigation by the Lay Observer and the Law Society itself (which became known as the Ely Report ) highlighted "an appalling catalogue of errors, insensitivity and poor judgment" in

584-444: A 2013 investigation found that actual discipline for prosecutorial misconduct was lacking. Prosecutors are also tasked with seeking justice in their prosecutions. "The United States Attorney," explained the U.S. Supreme Court, is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all, and whose interest, therefore, in

730-636: A Judicial Appointments Commission to examine judicial appointments for government interference. Austin Mitchell proposed the abolition of QCs and the establishment of a legal services commission. After the bill's introduction in Parliament on 6 December 1989 it was debated by the House of Lords until 18 April 1990. On 8 May 1990 it moved to the House of Commons, where it stayed until 26 October, when it

876-537: A brief period between 2010 and 2016, the position of Public Prosecutor General has been held concurrently by the Minister of Justice. 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,

1022-604: A chairman (who must be a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary , Lord Justice of Appeal or a High Court judge ) and sixteen other members, all appointed by the Lord Chancellor . The first chairman appointed was Lord Griffiths , a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. The sixteen other members are divided so that: This section of the Act amended the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 to indicate that no Member of Parliament can be

1168-553: A confession by the defendant does not remove the requirement that the prosecution present a full case. This allows for plea bargaining in adversarial systems in a way that is difficult or impossible in inquisitional system, and many felony cases in the United States are handled without trial through such plea bargains. Plea bargains are becoming more common in 27 civil law countries. Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41)

1314-417: A criminal case once a suspect has been identified and charges need to be filed. They are employed by an office of the government, with safeguards in place to ensure such an office can successfully pursue the prosecution of government officials. Multiple offices exist in a single country, especially in those countries with federal governments where sovereignty has been bifurcated or devolved in some way. Since

1460-902: A criminal investigation but cannot prevent one ( droit d'injonction positive / positief injunctierecht ). 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

1606-468: A criminal prosecution is not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be done. As such, he is in a peculiar and very definite sense the servant of the law, the two-fold aim of which is that guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer. He may prosecute with earnestness and vigor—indeed, he should do so. But, while he may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones. It is as much his duty to refrain from improper methods calculated to produce

SECTION 10

#1732780627784

1752-487: 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

1898-409: A judge limited inquisitorial powers as the judge may exclude evidence deemed to not be trustworthy, or irrelevant to the legal issue at hand. Peter Murphy in his Practical Guide to Evidence recounts an instructive example. A frustrated judge in an English (adversarial) court finally asked a barrister after witnesses had produced conflicting accounts, "Am I never to hear the truth?" "No, my lord, merely

2044-431: 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

2190-429: A loan agreement with them. It was well known at the time that many members of the cabinet were happy with the initial proposal, but that Lord Hailsham was determined not to let it pass and forced the government to go against its earlier suggestion. Following the loss of their conveyancing monopoly, solicitors turned to the barrister 's monopoly on rights of audience and attempted to have it removed. In March 1984

2336-791: A member of the Advisory Committee. Committee members are to serve for five years, and provisions are made for them to be paid and for them to maintain a staff, all of which are to be paid from the Lord Chancellor's budget. The committee is required to produce an annual report, which the Lord Chancellor must present to both the House of Lords and the House of Commons . The committee is tasked with maintaining and developing standards in "the education, training and conduct of those offering legal services", and with reviewing existing training schemes and any proposals for new training schemes. Section 36 removes limits on who can act as

2482-504: A profession had to be independent of government, because without independence the interests of a client cannot be a primary consideration. As such, since the legal profession regulated itself through organisations such as the Law Society and Bar Council, it was best if it stayed independent of government interference. The Commission did recommend an examination of the court and legal procedures to see if time and money could be saved for

2628-544: A prosecutor from the independent 'Wooler' review; the Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and the Justice Select Committee, given they also investigate the offences and campaign politically for animal rights. The ongoing issues with private prosecutions outlined above has led to the Justice Select Committee calling for a closer examination of the process and regulation by government. It

2774-586: A result of the House of Lords debate and the other criticism the Green Papers faced, the Lord Chancellor published a White Paper between the Green Papers and the introduction of a bill to Parliament . The paper ( Legal Services: A Framework for the Future ) was published in July 1989, and had a different tone to that of the Green Papers, referring more to the requirement of legal services to be responsive to

2920-408: A result of this and similar controversies, Alf Dubs introduced a private member's bill to move the responsibility of regulating the solicitors profession to a body outside the Law Society. After pressure from the Law Society and several of the larger regional societies, the reforms were toned down, and the final proposal (which was implemented on 31 August 1986) kept the responsibility of regulating

3066-450: A traineeship in prosecution and advocacy lasting approximately one year in duration, although they may hold law degrees. Crown Prosecutors are always lawyers and typically barristers, and they represent the state or Commonwealth in serious criminal cases in higher courts, County Court and above. Aside from police prosecutors and Crown prosecutors, government agencies have the authority to appoint non-lawyers to prosecute on their behalf, such as

SECTION 20

#1732780627784

3212-517: A transaction, causing issues with conflicts of interest, and failed to take into account the problems caused by banks and estate agents, who had interests in the housing market, being allowed to act as conveyancers. Several different parties responded to the Green Papers ; the judiciary published The Green Papers: The Judges' Response , the Bar published Quality of Justice: The Bar's Response and

3358-482: A wrongful conviction as it is to use every legitimate means to bring about a just one. Prosecutors in some jurisdictions have the discretion to not pursue criminal charges, even when there is probable cause , if they determine that there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction. Prosecutors may dismiss charges in this situation by seeking a voluntary dismissal or nolle prosequi . In Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, criminal prosecutions are brought in

3504-692: Is a member of a professional body recognised by the Lord Chancellor and that body considers him qualified to conduct litigation. A person also has rights of audience if they have been directly granted it, for example by the Lord Chancellor in County Court proceedings. The most immediate effect of this is that solicitors can now gain rights of audience in the Crown Court , High Court , Court of Appeal , Court of Session , Privy Council , and House of Lords if they qualify as Solicitor Advocates . Solicitor's clerks also have rights of audience in

3650-526: Is a mixed system, its civil law jurisdiction indicates its civil law heritage. Here, all prosecutions are carried out by Procurators Fiscal and Advocates Depute on behalf of the Lord Advocate , and, in theory, they can direct investigations by Police Scotland . In very serious cases, a Procurator Fiscal, Advocate Depute, or even the Lord Advocate may take charge of a police investigation. It

3796-431: Is a neutral decision-maker such as a judge or jury. The second is presentation of evidence in support of each party's case, usually by lawyers. The third is a highly structured procedure. The rules of evidence are developed based upon the system of objections of adversaries and on what basis it may tend to prejudice the trier of fact which may be the judge or the jury. In a way the rules of evidence can function to give

3942-637: 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 offences on behalf of the Crown . At least in the case of very serious matters, the DPP will be asked by the police, during the investigation, to advise them on

4088-526: Is at the discretion of the Procurator Fiscal, Advocate Depute, or Lord Advocate to take a prosecution to court, and to decide on whether or not to prosecute it under solemn procedure or summary procedure . Other remedies are open to a prosecutor in Scotland, including fiscal fines and non-court based interventions, such as rehabilitation and social work . All prosecutions are handled within

4234-413: Is based on the prosecutor's objective assessment of the evidence, including the impact of any defence and any other information that the suspect has put forward or on which they might rely. It means that an objective, impartial, and reasonable jury or bench of magistrates or judge hearing a case alone, properly directed and acting in accordance with the law, is more likely than not to convict the defendant of

4380-466: 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

4526-509: Is led by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The CPS prosecutes on behalf of the Crown and also takes forward prosecutions originating from police investigations. While the DPP must be a suitably qualified lawyer under section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 , the DPP does not take on cases themselves and instead plays an administrative and leadership role. In this way, while

Prosecutor - Misplaced Pages Continue

4672-421: Is mainly because it is not the prosecutor but the judge who questions the defendant. The concept of "cross"-examination is entirely due to adversarial structure of the common law. The name "adversarial system" may be misleading in that it implies it is only within this type of system in which there are opposing prosecution and defense. This is not the case, and both modern adversarial and inquisitorial systems have

4818-433: 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 appellate courts . Otherwise, appeals are initiated by defense counsel, the plaintiff, their representatives, and other parties to

4964-612: Is usually practically difficult for an individual to bring a private prosecution given the high cost – estimated by the Ministry of Justice at £8,500 on average. Even if a private prosecutor is not legally qualified, they must meet the usual legal requirements lawyers must undertake including the Criminal Procedure Rules and appropriate disclosure standards. The DPP has authority to take over any prosecution instituted by another person or organisation, and to discontinue

5110-402: Is wide, a list of the offences can be found at Annex 1 of Consents to Prosecute . In England and Wales, there is a statutorily protected common law right for any person to institute a private prosecution. This right is retained by section 6(1) Prosecution of Offenders Act 1985 . Some organisations regularly use private prosecutions on a large scale to achieve an institutional goal, for example

5256-672: The Authorised Conveyancing Practitioners Board , the regulatory body for conveyancing. Section 36 also repeals the section of the Building Societies Act 1986 that covered banks acting as conveyancers, since they are covered as "companies and incorporated bodies". Section 34 establishes the Authorised Conveyancing Practitioners Board as a statutory corporation . The Practitioners Board is tasked with developing competition in conveyancing services to avoid monopolies, supervising

5402-734: The Conservative government was re-elected in 1987 it announced that it would produce a set of Green Papers on the work and organisation of the legal profession. These papers formed the basis of a large part of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. The three Green Papers were published by Lord Mackay in January 1989, and were titled The Work and Organisation of the Legal Profession , Conveyancing by Authorised Practitioners and Contingency Fees . The Work and Organisation of

5548-474: The 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 ( 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

5694-470: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service . Procurators fiscal will usually refer cases involving minors to Children's Hearings , which are not courts of law, but a panel of lay members empowered to act in the interests of the child. The United States is the only country in the world where citizens elect prosecutors. The director of a prosecution office is known by any of several names depending on

5840-579: The High Court to transfer any part of a High Court case to a county court in one of three situations; firstly if the parties consent, secondly where the High Court believes the amount in dispute is below the maximum amount the County Court is allowed to deal with and thirdly where the High Court believes that the case is not likely to raise any important question of law. Before the passing of

5986-501: The House of Lords with the appropriate certification, and was widely disliked by barristers and judges. The idea that barristers would not automatically have rights of audience also irritated them, and the idea that the Lord Chancellor would be responsible for defining which bodies could grant these certificates undermined the principle that the legal profession should be independent from the Government. In terms of conveyancing ,

Prosecutor - Misplaced Pages Continue

6132-415: The Law Society argued that solicitors were not at that time bound by the cab-rank rule in their dealings in the lower courts, and that there was no reason why this should not be extended to the higher courts. Michael Zander argued that the demands for the extension of the cab rank rule to solicitors were overstated—before the passing of the Act clients had always been able to find solicitors, and there

6278-506: The Law Society for regulating solicitors engaged in conveyancing work and the Council for Licensed Conveyancers charged with regulating licensed conveyancers. The Practitioners Board is the body which authorises a person or body as fit to undertake conveyancing work. The Practitioners board assumes that banks, insurance companies and building societies are by definition fit to undertake such work, while other individuals and bodies undergo

6424-574: The Law Society published Striking the Balance: The Final Response of the Council of the Law Society on the Green Papers . The response to the Green Papers was overwhelmingly negative, both in these published opinions and generally—the consultation period was extended for a month due to disagreements with the judiciary, and an all-day debate in the House of Lords on 7 April 1989 produced an "overwhelmingly hostile response". As

6570-573: The Lord Chancellor to make an order giving rights of audience to anyone in County Court cases of a certain type. Section 4 of the Act amended the Supreme Court Act 1981 to extend the rules on costs that govern the Supreme Court of England and Wales to the county courts as well. At the same time it introduced "wasted costs", which are costs to a party as a result of "an improper, unreasonable or negligent act or omission" from

6716-936: The Ministry of Justice are largely prosecutors. The highest-ranking prosecutor office of the Prokuratura in Poland is the 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

6862-483: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA), and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). These organisations and their legal representatives may be called prosecutors. This is the same for any person, organisation, or their representatives during a private prosecution . Finally, when cases are brought to trial, a barrister or solicitor with higher rights of audience may present

7008-518: The chambers of judges in the Crown Court and High Court, assuming they are being instructed by a qualified solicitor. A large amount of parliamentary time was spent debating the application of the cab-rank rule to new legal professionals granted rights of audience – the Bar argued that all people with rights of audience in the higher courts should be subject to the same rules as barristers , while

7154-479: The county courts (as established by the County Courts Act 1984 ). Other parties, if they were in "relevant legal employment", could also request rights of audience for a particular case. The Civil Justice Review found significant variations between courts as to who would be granted rights of audience, however, and Part I of the Courts and Legal Services Act attempted to address this. Section 11 allows

7300-437: The judiciary , particularly in terms of appointments, judicial pensions and the introduction of district judges , the arbitration process of Alternative Dispute Resolution and the procedure in the courts, particularly in terms of the distribution of civil business between the High Court and the county courts . The most significant changes were made in the way the legal profession was organised and regulated. The Act broke

7446-502: The "statutory objective", which reads "The general objective of this Part is the development of legal services in England and Wales (and in particular the development of advocacy, litigation, conveyancing and probate services) by making provision for new or better ways of providing such services and a wider choice of persons providing them, while maintaining the proper and efficient administration of justice." This "statutory objective"

SECTION 50

#1732780627784

7592-662: The Attorney General is not a prosecutor in England and Wales. Instead, the role is a political office of the chief legal advisor to the executive . Crown Prosecutors are lawyers who work for the CPS. They are responsible for researching, advising police investigations, preparing cases for trial and sometimes presenting the case at trial. These lawyers may also be referred to as prosecutors. A number of other bodies have authority to bring prosecutions in England and Wales, including

7738-512: 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. In France, the Office of the Prosecutor includes a Chief Prosecutor ( Procureur de la République in trial courts and procureur général in appellate courts or

7884-612: The CPS. Nevertheless, these prosecutors will follow the standards set by the Code of Crown Prosecutors alongside their own prosecution policies, which may deal with issues specific to the types of crime they engage with. There may, at times, be confusion as to which agency is responsible for having brought a prosecution. Which agency is prosecuting may affect whether an offence can be properly tried, as not all agencies can investigate and prosecute all offences. In R v Stafford Justices ex parte Customs and Excise Commissioners (1991) 2 All ER 201, it

8030-1064: 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. In Japan, 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

8176-422: The Council of the Law Society of England and Wales attempted to press for full rights of audience for solicitors, something the Bar was heavily opposed to. The dispute came to the attention of the public when Cyril Smith 's solicitor asked to read out a statement settling a libel action in the High Court —he was refused, both at the High Court and the Court of Appeal , although a practice statement issued by

8322-527: The Court of Appeal in 1986 indicated that they felt solicitors should be allowed to appear in front of the High Court and Court of appeal in formal proceedings. A public debate followed, with the result being that a joint committee between the Law Society and the Bar was formed to discuss the future of the legal profession. Known as the Marre Committee after its chairwoman, Mary Marre , The committee

8468-443: The Courts and Legal Services Act, around 13,000 cases were transferred to the county courts each year in this way. The Act changed the system so that the High Court has a discretionary power to transfer any proceedings to the county courts. Section 3 of the Courts and Legal Services Act amends the County Courts Act 1984 to allow the county courts to award any remedy used by the High Court . There were several exceptions because

8614-403: The Courts and Legal Services Act. The Glanville Davies affair in 1982 highlighted severe problems in the way solicitors regulated themselves. Leslie Parsons filed a complaint against his solicitor, Glanville Davies, a respected solicitor and member of the Council of the Law Society of England and Wales , the solicitors' professional body. Davies had charged Parsons £197,000 for legal services,

8760-425: The DPP may be referred to as a prosecutor, the individual in the role would not take any cases to court. The DPP is appointed by His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales , and the Attorney General also has supervisory authority as the sponsor of the CPS; however, the CPS is an independent body and the Attorney General cannot direct particular prosecutions. Unlike in the United States and other jurisdictions,

8906-426: The Director's Guidance on Charging. The first stage in prosecuting a case is deciding to charge the suspect, and it is this process which begins the prosecution. The CPS has the authority to decide whether a person is charged in all offences. However, the police may charge all summary offences , and either-way offences when there is an anticipated guilty plea . The nature of the offence is suitable for sentence in

SECTION 60

#1732780627784

9052-664: The Green Paper proposed that the framework in the Building Societies Act would be repealed, and replaced by a system of authorised practitioners, where any person, partnership or corporate body could provide conveyancing services if they met certain standards. The authorised practitioners would have a professional code of conduct, and would be supervised by a certain number of licensed conveyancers and solicitors . The draft code of conduct had several flaws, however—it allowed practitioners to act for both parties in

9198-402: The High Court depending on the complexity and any case worth more than £50,000 is dealt with in the High Court. Claims worth under £3,000 are automatically dealt with by the small claims track of the County Court. This has drastically speeded up proceedings in the High Court by making sure that only "important" and valuable cases are dealt with by them. The County Courts Act 1984 permitted

9344-459: The Legal Profession was the main paper, and stated that the overall government objective was to ensure that: "' the market providing legal services operates freely and efficiently so as to give clients the widest possible choice of cost effective services; and the public can be certain that those services are being supplied by people who have the necessary expertise to provide a service in the area in question... [we believe] free competition between

9490-473: The Lord Chancellor on which bodies should be allowed to grant rights of audience to their members. The second main feature was for rights of audience . Mackay proposed that all lawyers, whether barristers or solicitors , should require a certificate of competence to work in the higher courts, while their initial professional qualifications would allow them to practice in the lower courts. This proposal allowed solicitors to gain full rights of audience up to

9636-417: 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. 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

9782-573: The RSPCA Inspectors. In Canada, public prosecutors in most provinces are called Crown Attorney or Crown Counsel . They are generally appointed by the provincial Attorney-General. The prosecution landscape in England and Wales is highly varied, meaning that a prosecutor can refer to a number of different individuals and roles. The primary prosecutor in the jurisdiction is the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which

9928-569: The Republic ( Procurador Geral da República ) heads the federal body, and tries cases before the Brazilian Supreme Court . 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

10074-506: 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

10220-478: The United States, these prosecuting barristers will work on a case-by-case basis, and so may also engage in defence work; they will not be employed solely to undertake prosecution advocacy. Crown Prosecutors are bound by a strict code of conduct, known as the Code for Crown Prosecutors , which governs how cases are charged and trials conducted. This fundamental code is supported by a range of other policies, most notably

10366-567: The actions of licensed conveyancers and developing a way of monitoring said conveyancers. The Practitioners Board has the powers to both grant and refuse authorisation to conveyancing practitioners, establish a conveyancing ombudsman and a compensation scheme for parties that suffer as a result of a conveyancer's actions appoint investigators to look into the behaviour of an authorised conveyancer. There are therefore three regulatory bodies under this Section—the Practitioners Board,

10512-542: The actual work of the office. United States Attorneys are appointed by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate . They represent the federal government in federal court in both civil and criminal cases. Private attorneys general can bring criminal cases on behalf of private parties in some states. Prosecutors are required by state and federal laws to follow certain rules. For example,

10658-476: The bill was printed on 6 December 1989, and consisted of 87 sections and 13 schedules spread over 115 pages. By the time the bill passed this had been extended to 125 sections and 20 schedules spread over 201 pages, mostly due to the discovery of how complex the required reforms would really be. The bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 6 December 1989 by Lord Strathmore . Several proposed clauses were debated in great detail, but failed to be included in

10804-530: The case ( målsäganden ). When a case has been decided by an appellate court, the right to appeal to the Supreme Court passes from the case's prosecutor to the Prosecutor-General ( Swedish : Riksåklagaren ). Adversarial system The adversarial system is the two-sided structure under which criminal trial courts operate, putting the prosecution against the defense. Adversarial systems are considered to have three basic features. The first

10950-424: The case before a magistrate or a judge (with or without a jury ). In these instances, referring to the prosecutor would refer to the lawyer conducting the case during trial. In most serious offences, the CPS or other prosecuting authority will instruct a barrister to represent them. In the most serious cases, this may be a King's Counsel , and barristers may work in teams with a leader directing juniors. Unlike in

11096-510: The case to the CPS' attention and yet it is a case that merits the prosecution being conducted by a public prosecuting authority rather than by a private individual. In New Zealand, most crimes are prosecuted by a Police Prosecutor, an employee of the New Zealand Police . The most serious crimes, which are about 5% of all crimes, is outsourced to a lawyer working at private law firm known as a Crown prosecutor . Although Scots law

11242-480: The charge alleged. This is a different test from the one that the criminal courts themselves must apply. A court may only convict if it is sure that the defendant is guilty. It has never been the rule that a prosecution will automatically take place once the evidential stage is met. A prosecution will usually take place unless the prosecutor is satisfied that there are public interest factors tending against prosecution which outweigh those tending in favour. In some cases

11388-517: The code of conduct set out by the Bar . The Law Society would be recognised under the Act as having the authority to declare a solicitor qualified to practice in a particular court, and solicitors would be recognised as soon as they finished their training contract as having rights of audience in the lower courts. The monopoly on starting and conducting litigation would also be removed, allowing any recognised legal authority to certify its members as fit to work as an advocate. The first draft of

11534-410: The complexity involved or the importance of any legal question likely to be raised. An exception to this rule is that the Lord Chancellor cannot ask the County Court to hear any case of judicial review . The result of this section of the Act is that any case worth less than £25,000 is dealt with in the County Court, any case worth between £25,000 and £50,000 is dealt with in either the County Court or

11680-580: The county courts, while any case valued at more than that would go straight to the High Court. Section 1 of the Act allows the Lord Chancellor to change the financial boundaries after consultation with senior judges such as the Lord Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls , and also allows the Lord Chancellor to create categories based on things other than the financial value of the case, such as

11826-465: The court is permitted to make inferences on an accused's failure to face cross-examination or to answer a particular question. This obviously limits the usefulness of silence as a tactic by the defense. In the United States, the Fifth Amendment has been interpreted to prohibit a jury from drawing a negative inference based on the defendant's invocation of his or her right not to testify, and

11972-452: The court system and speed up the process. The Act also changed the court rules on the submission of evidence. The Civil Justice Review found that many cases which could easily have been settled before the hearings in court were not, primarily because there was no way of assessing the strength of the other side's arguments and their evidence. The Civil Justice Review suggested that forcing parties to provide evidence and witness statements to

12118-411: The crime. In an adversarial system, there is no more controversy and the case proceeds to sentencing; though in many jurisdictions the defendant must have allocution of her or his crime; an obviously false confession will not be accepted even in common law courts. By contrast, in an inquisitorial system, the fact that the defendant has confessed is merely one more fact that is entered into evidence, and

12264-497: 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 doesn't participate in deliberation. Judges and prosecutors are trained at the same school, and regard one other as colleagues. In Germany, the Staatsanwalt ("state attorney") is a life-tenured public official in the senior judicial service belonging to

12410-817: 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. Prosecution is compulsory if the prosecutor has sufficient evidence to convict. 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

12556-399: The distribution of costs in civil cases. The Act has been called "[one of] the great reforming statutes of the twentieth century" and "one of the most important pieces of legislation affecting the delivery of legal services since 1949". During the 1960s the legal profession ( barristers , solicitors , and certificated notaries ) came under fire for what was perceived to be poor performance,

12702-512: The election to maintain an accused person's right to silence prevents any examination or cross-examination of that person's position, it follows that the decision of counsel as to what evidence will be called is a crucial tactic in any case in the adversarial system and hence it might be said that it is a lawyer's manipulation of the truth. Certainly, it requires the skills of counsel on both sides to be fairly equally pitted and subjected to an impartial judge. In some adversarial legislative systems,

12848-421: The end of the civil war , although nearly all provided this right in their state constitutions or laws much earlier. Appointment of counsel for indigent defendants was nearly universal in federal felony cases, though it varied considerably in state cases. It was not until 1963 that the U.S. Supreme Court declared that legal counsel must be provided at the expense of the state for indigent felony defendants, under

12994-404: The evidence", replied counsel. Judges in an adversarial system are impartial in ensuring the fair play of due process , or fundamental justice . Such judges decide, often when called upon by counsel rather than of their own motion, what evidence is to be admitted when there is a dispute; though in some common law jurisdictions judges play more of a role in deciding what evidence to admit into

13140-457: 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

13286-407: The federal Sixth Amendment, in state courts. See Gideon v. Wainwright , 372 U.S. 335 (1963). In criminal adversarial proceedings, an accused is not compelled to give evidence. Therefore, they may not be questioned by a prosecutor or judge unless they choose to be; however, should they decide to testify, they are subject to cross-examination and could be found guilty of perjury . As

13432-424: 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

13578-494: The final act. Lord Mishcon suggested that the Lord Chancellor should be required to "ensure that reasonable standards are set" for the courts service, the aim being to avoid delays and unnecessary expense. Lord Rawlinson made two proposals—firstly, to abolish the judicial functions of the Lord Chancellor (something that was later included in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 ), and secondly to establish

13724-440: The government must disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense; must disclose matters affecting the credibility of prosecution witnesses, such as an agreement to dismiss the witness's own charges in exchange for their testimony; must not destroy potentially useful evidence in bad faith; and must not use false testimony to secure a conviction. Failure to follow these rules may result in a finding of prosecutorial misconduct , although

13870-555: The government, Mitchell withdrew his bill in exchange for a guarantee that the government would allow non-solicitors to undertake conveyancing work once a Committee had set out proposals for protecting consumers who used these new conveyancers against losses. The committee, known as the Farrand Committee (after its chairman, Julian Farrand ), finished its report in September 1984. The government almost immediately changed

14016-600: The handling of the Davies Affair by the Law Society internal disciplinary organisation, with "administrative failures, wrong decisions, mistakes, errors of judgement, failures in communication and insenstivity... the whole affair was a disgrace to the Society". The Society paid compensation to Parsons for their mishandling of the situation, and said that they would compensate victims of similar cases where they had failed to investigate complaints with reasonable care. As

14162-560: The high cost of conveyancing , and its failure to deal with the needs of all levels of society. In response, the Labour government under Harold Wilson created a Royal Commission on Legal Services, known as the Benson Commission (after its chairman Sir Henry Benson ), which was asked to "examine the structure, organisation, training and regulation of the legal profession and to recommend those changes that would be desirable to

14308-563: The impartial searcher starting at the middle." The right to counsel in criminal trials was initially not accepted in some adversarial systems. It was believed that the facts should speak for themselves, and that lawyers would just blur the matters. As a consequence, it was only in 1836 that England gave suspects of felonies the formal right to have legal counsel (the Prisoners' Counsel Act 1836 ), although in practice, English courts routinely allowed defendants to be represented by counsel from

14454-494: The initiation of a police investigation. 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

14600-442: The institutions from providing conveyancing, either directly or through a subsidiary company in which they hold a majority stake, to those who are also borrowing from them". This essentially killed the proposal (a framework which would allow banks to undertake conveyancing work was included in the Building Societies Act 1986 but never implemented) because the banks had no interest in lending only to people who were not also engaged in

14746-416: The interests of justice". The Commission frightened the legal profession, which believed that they were likely to face severe structural changes and lose their monopolies on probate work and conveyancing work. Their fears were unfounded, however—when the report was published in 1979 it did not propose any radical changes, with one editorial describing it as "characterised by an over-anxiety not to offend

14892-474: The investigation and arrest of the suspect, even though the suspect is taken to the police station to be charged by a custody officer. The CPS advise that another prosecuting authority should probably conduct a case if any of the following factors apply: Prosecutions under certain acts require the consent of the Attorney General or DPP before they can proceed. In practice, the following types of consent may be required: The range of offences which require consent

15038-539: 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

15184-465: The judge and asked to explain their behaviour. If the explanation is not satisfactory they can be fined up to £400. This section was not entirely popular with the Members of Parliament , with Lord Grantchester calling it "a sledgehammer to crack a nut". Part II of the act is considered the most important and sets out a new regulatory framework for the legal profession. This section is the subject of

15330-581: 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 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 countries. While

15476-421: The jurisdiction, most commonly district attorney . Other names include state's attorney , state attorney , county attorney , and commonwealth's attorney . The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case against an individual or a corporation suspected of breaking the law, initiating and directing further criminal investigations, guiding and recommending the sentencing of offenders, and are

15622-400: The jury must be so instructed if the defendant requests. By contrast, while defendants in most civil law systems can be compelled to give statements, these statements are not subject to cross-examinations by the prosecution and are not given under oath. This allows the defendant to explain their side of the case without being subject to cross-examination by a skilled opposition. However, this

15768-493: The magistrates' court. In order to charge, the circumstances must meet the Full Code Test. In some urgent cases, a lower Threshold Test can be applied to get a charge quickly; however, the Full Code Test must then be applied at the earliest opportunity. The Full Code Test has two stages; both parts are equal and must be met before a prosecution can be brought. The finding that there is a realistic prospect of conviction

15914-602: The material to be relied on at this stage is capable of being: The Threshold Test must be kept under proactive and continuous review, and should only be used in rare and urgent circumstances. State investigative agencies such as the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), alongside independent prosecutors like the Service Prosecuting Authority , may all bring prosecutions themselves without using

16060-513: The mid-18th century. During the second half of the 18th century, advocates like Sir William Garrow and Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine , helped usher in the adversarial court system used in most common law countries today. In the United States, however, personally retained counsel have had a right to appear in all federal criminal cases since the adoption of the United States Constitution , and in state cases at least since

16206-431: The model rules; however, U.S. Supreme Court cases and other appellate cases have ruled that such disclosure is required. Typical sources of ethical requirements imposed on prosecutors come from appellate court opinions, state or federal court rules, and state or federal statutes (codified laws). In most Commonwealth Nations , the head of the prosecuting authority is known as the director of public prosecutions (DPP) and

16352-648: The monopoly solicitors held on conveyancing work, creating an Authorised Conveyancing Practitioners Board which could certify "any individual, corporation or employee of a corporation" as an authorised conveyancer subject to certain requirements. The Act also broke the monopoly the Bar held on advocacy and litigation in the higher courts by granting solicitors rights of audience in the Crown Court , High Court , Court of Appeal , Court of Session , Privy Council , and House of Lords if they qualify as solicitor advocates . The Act also made many minor changes to areas as varied as family law , criminal prosecutions and

16498-641: The name of the Commonwealth . In California, Colorado , Illinois , Michigan, and New York, criminal prosecutions are brought in the name of the People. In the remaining states, criminal prosecutions are brought in the name of the State. Prosecutors are typically civil servants who possess a 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. In Belgium,

16644-580: The needs of the client rather than the discipline of the market and problems with competition between branches of the legal profession. The white paper was divided into four sections: The White Paper allowed for extended rights of audience for both solicitors and any newly created legal disciplines, and also allowed that for certain types of cases, particularly in the county courts , there would be no limits on who could work as an advocate. All barristers would be allowed full rights of audience as soon as they completed pupillage , as long as they comply with

16790-461: The new role of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education, which was to be expanded to cover matters of professional conduct as well, and be renamed the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct (ACLEC). The committee would have fifteen members, all appointed by the Lord Chancellor , and would be tasked with commenting on lawyers' education, training and codes of conduct. The Advisory Committee would also advise

16936-1863: The only attorneys allowed to participate in grand jury proceedings. The titles of prosecutors in state courts vary from state to state and level of government (i.e. city, county, and state) and include the terms District Attorney in New York , California , Texas , Pennsylvania , Delaware , Massachusetts , North Carolina , Georgia , Nevada , Wisconsin , Oregon , and Oklahoma ; City Attorney in California cities (typically prosecute only minor and misdemeanor offenses) Commonwealth's Attorney in Kentucky and Virginia ; County Attorney in Nebraska , Minnesota , and Arizona ; County Prosecutor in New Jersey , Ohio , and Indiana ; District Attorney General in Tennessee; Prosecuting Attorney in Arkansas , Hawaii , Idaho , Michigan , Washington , and West Virginia , as well as in Missouri where cities additionally use City Attorneys to prosecute on their behalf; State's Attorney in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, North Dakota, and Vermont; State Prosecutor; Attorney General in Delaware and Rhode Island; and Solicitor in South Carolina. Prosecutors are most often chosen through local elections, and typically hire other attorneys as deputies or assistants to conduct most of

17082-437: The opinion of the High Court judge) from the High Court to the Court of Appeal . This was hotly debated, but the Master of the Rolls pointed out in Parliament that there is a significantly higher success rate in cases where the parties require the judge's permission to appeal than cases where the parties have absolute rights of appeal, implying that the restriction of absolute rights of appeal should cut pointless cases out of

17228-487: The other party before the case comes to court. Any party who fails to comply with this may be refused leave to present this oral evidence in court. A similar system had been used in the Chancery Division , Admiralty Court and Commercial Court since 1986. Prior to the passing of the Courts and Legal Services Act, only barristers , solicitors and the parties to a case had automatic rights of audience in

17374-538: The other party. The Act also applies special rules to High Court cases that the judge believes should have been brought in the County Court—the judge can reduce any costs by up to 25 percent to take into account the unneeded expense for both parties. The Act also introduces direct fines for parties that do not turn up to a hearing in a High Court or Crown Court case. If a party fails to attend an agreed meeting, with no warning beforehand, they can be summoned before

17520-411: The other side before the case came to court would make this assessment easier, and would lead to the parties settling their case before it came to court if one side was at an obvious disadvantage. This suggestion was accepted, and included in the Act, which says that each party must produce written statements of any oral evidence they intend to present in court, and that these statements should be given to

17666-470: The parties involved. The government response to the Benson Committee's report was published in 1983, and established a Civil Justice Review to examine court procedure. The report of the review board was put before the House of Commons on 7 June 1988, Despite this brief respite, a series of events in the 1980s helped spur a period of dramatic change in the legal profession that culminated in

17812-533: 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. Similar provisions are found in the Code of Criminal Procedure and in article 144 of the federal constitution. Beside their criminal duties, Brazilian prosecutors are among those authorized by

17958-497: The power of the state backs prosecutors, they are subject to special professional responsibility rules in addition to those binding all lawyers. For example, in the United States, Rule 3.8 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct requires prosecutors to "make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence or information that tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigates the offense." Not all U.S. states adopt

18104-544: The powers of the state separated between a prosecutor and the judge and allow the defendant the right to counsel . Indeed, the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in Article 6 requires these features in the legal systems of its signatory states. One of the most significant differences between the adversarial system and the inquisitorial system occurs when a criminal defendant admits to

18250-400: The professional establishment". In particular it ruled out the possibility of partnerships between barristers, upheld the idea of a split profession (one with both solicitors and barristers, in contrast to a fused profession ) and also rejected the suggestion to allow solicitors rights of audience in the High Court . The report concluded that the practice of law was a profession, and that

18396-516: The proposal that banks would be allowed to offer conveyancing services, but this suggestion eventually came to nothing. The government introduced a consultation paper on the subject in April 1984, but in December 1985 announced that it "was not satisfied that lending institutions could safely be permitted to offer both conveyancing and a loan in the same transaction. It is therefore proposed to prohibit

18542-409: The prosecution if they see fit. The CPS have set out public guidance on when they will take over a prosecution; this indicates that the CPS should take over and continue with the prosecution if the papers clearly show all of the following: The final consideration is designed to cover the situation where, for whatever reason, the investigative authorities with which the CPS usually deals have not brought

18688-430: The prosecutor may be satisfied that the public interest can be properly served by offering the offender the opportunity to have the matter dealt with by an out-of-court disposal rather than bringing a prosecution. In determining whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect, prosecutors must consider all of the material or information available, whether in evidential format or otherwise. Prosecutors must be satisfied that

18834-401: The providers of legal services will, through the discipline of the market, ensure that the public is provided with the most efficient network of legal services at the most economical prices, although the Government also believes that the public must also be assured of the competence of the providers of those services" The Green Papers had several main features, the first of which was describing

18980-462: 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 acts as the prosecuting attorney. In court, the prosecutor is not necessarily in an adversarial relationship to the defendant, but

19126-508: The record or reject. At worst, abusing judicial discretion would actually pave the way to a biased decision, rendering obsolete the judicial process in question— rule of law being illicitly subordinated by rule of man under such discriminating circumstances. Lord Devlin in The Judge said: "It can also be argued that two prejudiced searchers starting from opposite ends of the field will between them be less likely to miss anything than

19272-662: 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". In Sweden, public prosecutors are lawyers who work out of the Swedish Prosecution Authority ( Swedish : Åklagarmyndigheten ) and direct police investigations of serious crimes. For all criminal cases, public prosecutors decide arrests and charges on behalf of

19418-460: The rules to allow for licensed conveyancers , introducing the changes with a section in the Administration of Justice Act 1985 . Despite worries that this would bankrupt solicitors who specialised in conveyancing work, very few licensed conveyancers began practising due to the difficulties in qualifying, and although the field has become more competitive there has been no substantial loss of revenue like that feared. Solicitors were more scared by

19564-404: The same corps as judges . 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

19710-416: The solicitors' profession within the Law Society but increased the separation of functions within the Society and required that the majority of the people on regulatory committees be lay people (not solicitors). The next major reform was the loss of the conveyancing monopoly. Before 1983, only solicitors had been authorised to take part in conveyancing work—for anyone else to draft documents relating to

19856-407: The state or the government in the case brought against the accused person. Prosecutors are typically lawyers who possess a law degree and are recognised as suitable legal professionals by the court in which they are acting. This may mean they have been admitted to the bar or obtained a comparable qualification where available, such as solicitor advocates in England law . They become involved in

20002-605: The status of the County Courts made it illogical to allow them to write orders of mandamus or certiorari . The new section also allows the Lord Chancellor to prohibit the county courts from making certain other types of order, with these types to be introduced by statutory instrument . Again, these are orders which it would be illogical to allow the county courts to write, such as Anton Piller orders or Mareva injunctions . The Act also removes certain absolute rights of appeal (allowing parties to appeal regardless of

20148-476: 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 South Africa's , guarantee the independence and impartiality of the DPP. Prosecutors in Australia come in a few distinct species. Prosecutors of minor criminal cases in lower courts are police sergeants with

20294-710: The transfer of property was a statutory offence. In December 1983 Austin Mitchell , a Labour Member of Parliament who had been one of the initial supporters of Alf Dubs ' private member's bill introduced a private member's bill of his own called the House Buyers Bill. This aimed to remove the restrictions on conveyancing, and although the government opposed it they made it clear that they planned to allow banks and building societies to carry out conveyancing for their customers, and would also be prepared to allow non-solicitors with suitable qualifications to carry out conveyancing work as well. After negotiations with

20440-668: The vast majority of prosecutions under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 are prosecuted by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) as private prosecutions. The Post Office also undertook a wide array of private prosecutions against post masters, leading to a subsequent scandal in which these prosecutions have widely come to be seen as a miscarriage of justice. The RSPCA have come under strong criticism for lacking sufficient independence to act as

20586-406: Was a completely new way of introducing legislation, and is intended as an aid to those who have to apply it. The most important element of this Part was the extension of rights of audience in the higher courts to solicitors and other legal professionals. Sections 27 and 28 of Part II give an advocate rights of audience and the right to conduct litigation if the advocate is qualified to do so,

20732-545: Was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the legal profession and courts of England and Wales . The Act was the culmination of a series of reports and reforms that started with the Benson Commission in the 1970s, and significantly changed the way that the legal profession and court system worked. The changes introduced in the Act covered a variety of areas. Important changes were made to

20878-442: Was established in April 1986 and made its report in July 1988. The committee had not been a successful one—the result was split, with the solicitor members and six of the seven independent members recommending the extension of solicitors' rights of audience to the Crown Court , with the Bar representatives and one independent member disagreeing and attaching a Note of Dissent to the final report that undermined its conclusions. When

21024-410: Was found by the court that a prosecution is instituted by the police only when they have investigated, arrested and brought the arrested person to the custody officer. A case is not instituted by the police simply because a custody officer at a police station charges the suspect. Applying the same principle, proceedings are instituted by another prosecuting agency when they have been solely responsible for

21170-436: Was no reason why this should suddenly change when the act came into force. The Bar won this particular argument, however, and as a result anybody who can certificate advocates as qualified to hold rights of audience in the higher courts must have a code of conduct governing advocates who refuse cases. Section 19 of Part II established the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct , which consists of

21316-577: Was passed. The bill received the Royal Assent on 1 November 1990. The final version of the act was divided into six sections: Part I of the Act made several changes to the procedure used in civil courts, namely the High Court and the county courts . Almost all civil work is dealt with by either the High Court or the County Court. Prior to the Act, there was a simple financial boundary to decide which cases would go to which court—any contract or tort case valued at less than £5,000 would go to

#783216