Introduction
Introduction
The prosecution service, established by the Constitution, is vested with the right to represent the state, to prosecute criminal cases, and to defend the rule of law. Furthermore, it is the task of the prosecution service to represent citizens whenever their social rights are endangered, and to defend a vast range of interests such as the environment and the country’s cultural heritage. The role of the prosecution service in Portuguese society extends beyond mere prevention and penal repression. The Constitution endows the prosecution service with an essential role in defending democratic values and rule of law.
The preventive and repressive functions of the prosecution service have an important social impact on the society, as these functions are most visible to the general public. Indeed, whenever the courts or the population at large discuss the prosecution service, they relate to its performance in the criminal sphere.
The legal instruments that rule the intervention of the prosecution service in general, and in the field of the administration of criminal justice in particular, are the Constitution, the Statute of the prosecution service, approved by Law No. 47/86, the Court Organisation Act, and the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereafter, CCP).
According to these legal instruments the prosecution service has the following characteristics:
- the prosecution service is independent from political and judicial powers;
- the service is autonomous in its actions;
- the powers of the prosecution service are functionally circumscribed by the law;
- there exists a hierarchical structure; this implies that members of the prosecution service must obey directives, orders and instructions issued by their hierarchical superiors;
- in its actions, the service is bound by the principle of objectivity; this implies a duty to apply instruments of law to establish material truth, and not to apply them as instruments of accusation only.
The prosecution service, established by the Constitution, is vested with the right to represent the state, to prosecute criminal cases, and to defend the rule of law. Furthermore, it is the task of the prosecution service to represent citizens whenever their social rights are endangered, and to defend a vast range of interests such as the environment and the country’s cultural heritage. The role of the prosecution service in Portuguese society extends beyond mere prevention and penal repression. The Constitution endows the prosecution service with an essential role in defending democratic values and rule of law.
The preventive and repressive functions of the prosecution service have an important social impact on the society, as these functions are most visible to the general public. Indeed, whenever the courts or the population at large discuss the prosecution service, they relate to its performance in the criminal sphere.
The legal instruments that rule the intervention of the prosecution service in general, and in the field of the administration of criminal justice in particular, are the Constitution, the Statute of the prosecution service, approved by Law No. 47/86, the Court Organisation Act, and the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereafter, CCP).
According to these legal instruments the prosecution service has the following characteristics:
- the prosecution service is independent from political and judicial powers;
- the service is autonomous in its actions;
- the powers of the prosecution service are functionally circumscribed by the law;
- there exists a hierarchical structure; this implies that members of the prosecution service must obey directives, orders and instructions issued by their hierarchical superiors;
- in its actions, the service is bound by the principle of objectivity; this implies a duty to apply instruments of law to establish material truth, and not to apply them as instruments of accusation only.
