The independence and accountability of the public prosecutor : in search of a difficult equilibrium

Abstract

This article stresses the reasons why the role of public prosecution has acquired an increasing relevance in democratic countries. Not only because criminal phenomena are far more complex and menacing than in the past, but also and no less, because of the devastating consequences that undue, improper or partisan use of criminal investigation and criminal initiative may entail for the protection of civil rights, for the safeguard of the social, familial and political status of the citizens and their equal protection in front of criminal law. The ref ore, independence and accountability are both crucial values to be protected in designing the role of public prosecution. At the same time those values are difficult to combine at the operational level. [excerpt]