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Director of Public Prosecutions

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The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several jurisdictions around the world.

Republic of Ireland

The Director of Public Prosecutions has been responsible for prosecution, in the name of the People, of all indictable criminal offences in the Republic of Ireland since the enactment of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974. Before 1974 all crimes and offences were prosecuted at the suit of the Attorney General.

James Hamilton currently holds this position in the Republic of Ireland.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the office of Director of Public Prosecutions was first created in 1880 as part of the Home Office, and had its own department from 1908. The DPP was only responsible for the prosecution of a small number of major cases until 1986 when responsibility for prosecutions was transferred to a new Crown Prosecution Service with the DPP as its head.

Australia

Australia has a Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, which was set up by the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983 and started operations in 1984. Australian states and territories also have their own DPPs. The Australian Director of Public Prosecutions is Damian Bugg QC, who gained the position as a result of his successful prosecution of Martin Bryant with regards to the Port Arthur Massacre case in 1996. Prior to that, he was the Tasmanian Director of Public Prosecutions. Each state and territory has their own. They can be researched on the internet.

Hong Kong

The Director of Public Prosecutions of Hong Kong heads the Prosecutions Division of the Department of Justice, which is responsible for prosecuting trials and appeals on behalf of Hong Kong, providing legal advice to law enforcement agencies, exercising on behalf of the Secretary for Justice to bring criminal proceedings, and providing advice and assistance to bureaux and departments in relation to any criminal law aspects of proposed legislation.

 

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