Private Prosecutions

My Platform refers to the above. What do I mean by it ?

Almost all (99%+, I'd say) of prosecutions in this country, as elsewhere, are conducted by the State, usually through the Director of Public Prosecutions ("DPP"). The DPP's office was set up about 40 years ago to "take prosecutions out of politics", and with that end in view, it was provided with several guarantees of its independence from interference. These guarantees have, as far as I know, been very effective, and they have a respectable rationale.

Even before the DPP's office was established, the power to initiate prosecution of crime was, for most purposes, an effective monopoly of the State.

The monopoly is not complete, however. A private citizen can proffer a charge against a suspected wrongdoer, and conduct a "private prosecution" of the charge, starting in the District Court. This mechanism is archaic but has not completely fallen out of use. Unfortunately, it is most often deployed as a weapon in vendettas between neighbours or former friends. In theory, it is possible for it to "kick-start" a full-blown jury trial in the Circuit Criminal Court, but this never happens. It does not happen because the system is designed to make it next-to-impossible.

There are good reasons for this, but I am suggesting that there are now good reasons to make the procedure easier.

The reasons are simply stated. The implosion of our economy in the Autumn of 2008 revealed that a number of lawyers, accountants, bankers and others had been involved in activities which, at a minimum, technically contravened company law. It is now Spring 2011, and not one has faced charges. The public prosecution service is not serving the citizens.(I am not referring to the DPP's office alone, but to the machinery of which it is one part).

Many of those citizens are confident that they have sufficient evidence to obtain convictions against the miscreants. They can prosecute them privately but will have to get the DPP's co-operation to get the real satisfaction of a conviction on serious charges.

That is why I am calling for an overhaul of prosecution services, and in particular, for the option of private prosecution to be rendered less difficult.