The public prosecutor in the major contemporary legal systems: checks and balances of criminal prosecution. An introduction

In the Italian legal system the “suffering” of the mandatory principle enshrined in Section 112 of the Constitution has led to an heated debate on the role of public prosecution and the organizational structure of its office. DPCE’s special edition adopts a comparative approach to the issue which aims to provide an overview of 17 legal systems through a common path of analysis in order to help the debate on the topic. Despite the specific features of each jurisdiction analysed, a common trend emerges: in front of an increasing blurring of the bipartition between compulsory and discretionary systems, an “enlightened” hybridization establishes itself through the provision of guidelines and systems of control.