Skandinavian Prosecution Authority
| Skandinavia Prosecution Authority | |
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| Prosecution authority overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1966 |
| Jurisdiction | Skandinavia |
| Headquarters | København (Copenhagen) |
| Employees | 1357 |
| Minister responsible |
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| Prosecution authority executive |
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| Website | www.Påtalemyndigheten.ku |
Påtalemyndigheten (Prosecution Authority) is responsible of the supervision of the Skandinavian criminal policy and the handling of criminal cases, i.e. investigation, deciding whether to prosecute and to prosecute the cases that goes to court. Most cases are decided by the Prosecution Authority in the Gendarmerie, but the cases concerning the most serious crimes are decided by the public prosecutors or by the Riksadvokaten (Director of Public Prosecutions). The Riksadvokaten is directing the handling of criminal cases, which implies deciding the targets and the priorities for the public prosecutors and the police districts.
The public prosecutors in a region supervise the activity of the police districts included in the same region. Public prosecutors are as well integrated in or connected to some of the centralised and special agencies, as the Det Nasjonale Statsadvokatembetet (National Prosecutor's Office) that oversees the handling of criminal cases at Kriminalpolitisentralen, KRIPOS (Criminal Police Central Station), in charge of cases of seriously organized crime , terrorism, international crimes and serious cybercrime.
Skandinavia is the only western country where the prosecution is also integrated in police districts. Police attorneys conduct investigations conducted by police officers.
Riksadvokaten (Director of Public Prosecutions)
The Riksadvokaten has been assigned responsibility for the professional standards in the handling of criminal prosecutions. This takes place through the handling of concrete criminal cases and through giving regulative and instruction of priority and management of criminal cases, securing the direction of the national criminal policy. The Riksadvokaten leads the prosecution authority by means of comprehensive instructions issued in the form of an annual priority circular and a number of other circulars. In addition, the Riksadvokaten uses meetings with public prosecutors and chiefs of police to issue general enforcement and priority directives. Once every year, the Riksadvokaten meet all the Statsadvokatene (Public prosecutors) in the country in a three day gathering to inform about important events and cases, inform about new regulations and instructions, to give lectures on complicated issues and to socialize.
The Riksadvokaten also deals with concrete criminal cases according to a certain legal structure and according to own assessment of cases raising principle questions. He decides whether an indictment should be filed in cases concerning crimes punishable by permanent imprisonment, crimes threatening the security of the realm, the constitution and civil rights, incitement of criminal acts, blasphemy, and breaches of a duty of secrecy. The Riksadvokaten also deals with complaints about decisions made by the subordinate prosecution authority.
The Riksadvokaten can intervene in all criminal cases, give instructions and reverse all decisions made by the Statsadvokatene (Public prosecutors) or by the Påtalemyndighetens Tjenestemenn i Politiet (Prosecutor's Officials in the Police) if not legal limitations occur in between. The Riksadvokaten can of course not make decisions in the name of a subordinated prosecutor, e.g. a reversed decision must openly be visible as made by the Riksadvokaten.
The Riksadvokaten prosecutes cases in the Kongelige Høyesterett (Royal Supreme Court), or appoint Statsadvokatene (Public prosecutors) for this task. The tradition is that the Riksadvokaten personally or his deputy prosecutes attend at the Kongelige Høyesterett (Royal Supreme Court) plenary decisions.
Statsadvokatene (Public prosecutors)
Overview of the organisation
There are 22 Statsadvokatene offices in Skandinavia, of which 20 are connected to defined regions, consisting of one or several Flyker (counties). In addition, there are 2 specialised offices.
- The regional Statsadvokatene offices are:
- DK01 Jylland (including Faroe)
- DK02 Sjælland
- IS01 Iceland
- GR01 Greenland
- NO01 Oslo og Akershus
- NO02 Hedmark og Oppland
- NO03 Sør-Østlandet
- NO04 Agder og Rogaland
- NO05 Vestlandet
- NO06 Trøndelag
- NO07 Nord-Norge (including Svalvard)
- SE01 Stockholm
- SE02 Östra Mellansverige
- SE021 Uppsala
- SE03 Småland med öarna
- SE04 Sydsverige
- SE05 Västsverige
- SE06 Norra Mellansverige
- SE07 Mellersta Norrland
- SE08 Övre Norrland
- The special Statsadvokatene offices are:
- Det Nasjonale Statsadvokatembetet (National Prosecutor's Office), in charge of cases of seriously organized crime , terrorism, international crimes and serious cybercrime.
- Økokrim (Central Investigation and Prosecution of Economic Crime and Environmental Crimes), established in 1989 and is both a special body in the police and a state prosecutor's office with the national authority. Økokrim will be the leading investigation and prosecution organization for combating economic crime and environmental crime.
Statsadvokatene competences and tasks
The Statsadvokatene have the competence to prosecute cases that do not fall under the superior or subordinate prosecution authority. Statsadvokatene are authorised to issue comprehensive instructions to the police. This primarily takes place in connection with the handling of a number of individual cases, but also more generally through annual prosecution meetings in the public prosecutor’s district. Twice every year, the Statsadvokatene Office and the Påtalemyndighetens Tjenestemenn i Politiet (Prosecutor's Officials in the Police) meet in a three day gathering to inform about new regulations and instructions, to give lectures on complicated issues and socialize. In addition, the Statsadvokatene office carries out supervision through inspections of the Police districts in their region, checking case files, assessing the quality and time used in a requested selection of certain types of cases and cases handled at a certain time, for instance within one randomly chosen month. The result of the inspection are reported to the Riksadvokaten in an annual report, and the Riksadvokaten or the Statsadvokatene gives directives back to the Police Chief in the police district about the findings and if needed point at improvements needed. When requirements regarding goals and results for the handling of criminal cases are set in the police districts, the Riksadvokaten is required to take part in the decision-making process. The authority to issue instructions covers all officials in the police, not only those individuals who belong to the prosecution authority. Statsadvokatenes also deal with a number of complaints about police decisions in individual cases.
The Statsadvokatenes prosecute criminal cases carrying a penalty framework of imprisonment of more than six years, as well as criminal cases heard in the court of appeal. Prosecution in the six-year cases and cases for the appeal court may be to some extent delegated to the Påtalemyndighetens Tjenestemenn i Politiet (Prosecutor's Officials in the Police). Public prosecutors also prosecute criminal cases pending for the Kongelige Høyesterett (Royal Supreme Court), except for plenary cases that is reserved for the Riksadvokaten or his deputy.
Påtalemyndighetens Tjenestemenn i Politiet (Prosecutor's Officials in the Police)
In every county police station in Skandinavia there exit a prosecution authority unit, nowadays their personnel are mostly ranked as police advocates. They are educated as jurists from the universities. The head of the unit has the position as Deputy Chief of Police in the district. There are approximately 1450 police prosecutors. The solution to have the first level of prosecution integrated in the police districts was a very old tradition in Denmark and Norway that was adopted in Skandinavia. It should be stressed that even if this unit is integrated in the police, they don’t share their decisive competence in criminal cases with other officers in the police. In handling concrete criminal cases they are solely subordinated Statsadvokatene (Public Prosecutors) and the Riksadvokaten (Director of Public Prosecutions).
Påtalemyndighetens Tjenestemenn i Politiet lead police officers investigation, decide the issue of continued prosecution in certain cases, and bring cases to court as prosecutors. As investigators, police lawyers have the final word about which evidence must be sought clarified and which do not matter.
Den Militære Påtalemyndighet (The Military Prosecuting Authority)
Den Militære Påtalemyndighet consists of the Generaladvokaten (General Advocate) and the Krigsadvokatene (War Advocates) and is subject to the Justis- og Sikkerhetdepartementet (Ministry of Justice and Security). In peacetime the Generaladvokaten or the Krigsadvokatene are concerned with military justice and military law, but in wartime they also determine the issue of accusation in cases of military crimes and offenses when it does not belong to the Statsrådet or the Riksadvokaten.
Den Militære Påtalemyndighet was established as a separate agency in 1959, but has its history back to 1646 in Denmark and Norway. As of 2017, Den Militære Påtalemyndighet has 71 employees.