About the prosecution authority
Organisation of the prosecution authority in Iceland
As of 1 January 2016, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the District prosecutor, and the district commissioners of police (9 districts) exercise the prosecutorial authority in Iceland.
About the Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the supreme holder of the prosecution power. The director oversees investigations of criminal cases throughout the country and sees to coordinating and monitoring the execution of prosecutorial authority by the commissioners of police and district prosecutors. The Director of Public Prosecutions conducts all criminal cases on behalf of the prosecution authority before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Iceland and decides whether to appeal cases. The Director of Public Prosecutions issues general rules and instructions regarding the handling of prosecution authority and can also issue instructions to other prosecutors on individual cases that they are obligated to follow. The Director of Public Prosecutions reviews decisions by the commissioners of police and the District prosecutor to close case files (i.e., to not issue indictments) on the basis of a complaint in a particular case. The Director of Public Prosecutions, can also on her/his own initiative, review these decisions. In addition, the Director of Public Prosecutions can at any time take over the prosecution of a case from the commissioners of police and the District prosecutor, including issuing an indictment in a particular case if he/she deems it necessary. The Director of Public Prosecutions monitors the implementation of telephone tapping by the police and special investigative methods of police.
Other tasks of the Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions submits an opinion on cases regarding requests to reopen criminal cases.
- The Director of Public Prosecutions provides opinions on parliamentary bills on the penal code and criminal procedure.
- The Director of Public Prosecutions handles international relations on behalf of the prosecution authority.
- The Director of Public Prosecutions handles requests on legal assistance from authorities in other countries and cases regarding a demand for the extradition/delivery of foreign and Icelandic citizens.
- The Director of Public Prosecutions organises and provides education and training of prosecutors.
- The Director of Public Prosecutions keeps criminal records for all Iceland, where the outcomes of criminal cases are recorded.
- The Director of Public Prosecutions keeps statistical records on the prosecution authority's operations.
- The Director of Public Prosecutions sees to various aspects of appeals, receives a declaration of appeal and petition for appeal from a convicted person requesting leave to appeal the case, issues an appeal summons and sees to its service on the indictee and also prepares and sees to the finishing of documents submitted in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Iceland.
Appointment of the Director of Public Prosecutions
The minister appoints the Director of Public Prosecutions, and that person shall meet the legal requirements for appointment as a justice on the Supreme Court of Iceland. The Director of Public Prosecutions is appointed for indefinite period. Assisting the Director of Public Prosecutions are the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions and prosecutors.
Employees at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Ten prosecutors work at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, i.e., the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, and eight prosecutors. In addition, there are four administrative employees in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions - the office manager, two general secretaries and a secretary of criminal records.
The employees' names and email addresses can be found here. The address of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is Suðurlandsbraut 4, Reykjavík.
The District Prosecutor
- Prosecutes the more serious offences against the General Penal Code, which are investigated by the police.
- Investigates and prosecutes serious economic crimes and tax offences.
- Investigates and prosecutes offences committed by police and against the police.
- Operates a Financial Intelligence Unit and handles procedure in cases involving the recovery and confiscation of illicit gains from criminal activities.
The 9 district commissioners of police
- Investigate and prosecute all other offences than those handled by the District Prosecutor.
- The District Prosecutor can give the commissioners of police instructions and orders concerning the investigation of the cases the District Prosecutor prosecutes.
Prosecutors' role
The role of prosecutors is to ensure, in cooperation with police, that those committing crimes will be punished according to lawful sanctions, i.e., punishments (fine or imprisonment) or an exemplary penalty like suspension of a driver's licence. Prosecutors decide whether or not a criminal investigation shall be conducted. Police conduct investigations of criminal cases. Prosecutors do not receive instructions from other authorities on the exercise of the prosecution authority.
The goal of criminal investigation is to gather all necessary documents and information to enable a prosecutor to decide whether to prosecute someone by issuing an indictment, as well as to gather information on the proper procedure for presenting the case in court. Prosecutors decide what shall be done in the case upon conclusion of its investigation. The main rule is to commence a criminal trial to punish the accused if what emerges during the investigation is deemed sufficient or likely to result in conviction. On the other hand, the case is dropped (i.e., no indictment is issued) if this is deemed not to be the case. Police should not begin an investigation unless there is reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct falling under the prosecution authority.
Prosecutors are obligated to provide police with guidance on conducting investigations and instruct them on carrying out investigations. Prosecutors must ensure the protection of the fundamental rights of those under investigation and enforce instructions on case investigations set out in the act on criminal procedure. Prosecutors shall honour the fundamental rule that they may not introduce evidence collected unlawfully or dishonestly.
Under Icelandic criminal law, the victim enjoys various assistance while the case regarding him/her is ongoing. The victim also has a right to obtain information on the conduct and progress of the case. Prosecutors ought to see to it that the victim enjoys appropriate assistance and obtains the information to which she/he is entitled.
Commissioners of police (prosecutors) may conclude specific matters without bringing them to trial with an indictment. In such instances, the commissioner of police concludes the case. This entails the accused's payment of a specified fine and, in some instances, his/her driver's licence is also suspended, and/or certain assets are confiscated. It is primarily traffic violations and drug violations that are concluded in this fashion.
A prosecutor can also drop a case, i.e., decide that the prosecution authority will not pursue the case further. Before making such a decision, a prosecutor must carefully check the documents and other information from the investigation and objectively assess the situation, according to the guideline of prosecuting those that the prosecutor deems guilty of crimes, but not others.
A prosecutor can decide to discontinue criminal prosecution in a case even though she/he deems the evidence sufficient to convict the accused in the case if an indictment were issued against him/her. A prosecutor has limited authorisation to do this and must exercise it carefully.
When the accused has admitted his/her offence, the prosecutor may postpone issuing an indictment for a specified period of time if certain conditions are fulfilled. This authority applies primarily to offences of children and youths, aged 15 to 21.
Code of Conduct
Under the auspices of the Council of Europe, the European Public Prosecutors' Conference has established guiding principles for prosecutors, called the Budapest Guidelines. You can find them here.
The prosecutorial authority in Iceland has set its own code of ethics. Its purpose is to complement other rules on the ethics and professional conduct of prosecutors, including the Budapest Guidelines. You can find it here.