Prosecutors play a key role in criminal justice systems around the
world, yet their role has been largely neglected in scholarly
literature. This workshop, which took place on the 28th and 29th July
2016, considered the evolving role of prosecutors, and the
challenges both domestic and international prosecutors face in the 21st
Century. The workshop addressed a number of key themes, beginning with a
consideration of the relationship between prosecutors and vulnerable
people. In this session papers considered the issues faced when
prosecutors engage with victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse or
with offenders who have a disability. Governance, accountability and
independence was the second major theme, and scholars considered the
separation of powers and how to ensure appropriate accountability in
both common law and civil law systems. In another session the question
of the role of the prosecutor in investigations was examined by several
scholars speaking about different contexts. The next theme was the
relationship between prosecutors and power, and the workshop concluded
with some interesting recent prosecutorial developments and innovations,
including 'community prosecutions', and deferred prosecution agreements
in corporate cases. Established scholars, early career researchers and
PhD students, representing eleven different countries on four
continents, participated in the workshop, comparing experiences with a
wide range of interconnecting issues.
