Consultation Response: PPS Code for Prosecutors

​The Public Prosecution Service launched a consultation on its revised Code for Prosecutors in May 2015. The previous edition of the Code for Prosecutors was issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2008 and its purpose continues to be to give guidance on the general principles to be applied in deciding whether criminal proceedings should be instituted or continued in any case and what charges should be selected. The Code also provides general guidelines for the conduct of criminal prosecutions and defines the standard of practice that the PPS expects from prosecutors.

The PPS has made a number of changes to the Code in the new version, including alterations to the public interest test around the role of victims and the importance of cost considerations as relevant factors in determining the prosecution process. The new Code also contains a number of new additions to the list of those who can request a review of a decision of no prosecution.

Furthermore, it also sets out new provisions around the circumstances in which prosecutors should bring to the court’s attention the appropriate sentencing range in a case and where they should express a view as to whether the defendant poses a significant risk to members of the public in the context of an assessment of dangerousness.

The Bar Council’s full response to the consultation which was submitted in September 2015 can be found here.