Supervision of the Public Prosecution Service (OM)
The Procurator General at the Supreme Court can inform the Minister of Justice and Security if they believe that the Public Prosecution Service is not properly enforcing or implementing the legal requirements when performing its duties. In the context of these duties, the Procurator General conducted various thematic investigations into how the Public Prosecution Service performs its duties. In doing so, attention was always devoted to the legal quality of the duty being investigated.
An investigation was launched in 2022, the main question being whether, when imposing special conditions on a release on probation, the Public Prosecution Service complies with the legal requirements and acts in accordance with the applicable legal principles. A report was drafted in the reporting year, which was presented to the Minister of Justice and Security in early 2024.
Investigations launched in 2023
An investigation was launched in 2023, the main focus of which was whether the Public Prosecution Service was properly enforcing and implementing the legal requirements when performing its duties in the protection of witnesses and their relatives which may or may not be covered by the witness protection system. Legal requirements are also understood to include treaty regulations, general principles of law, general orders in council, directives and (other) instructions. The supervision report was finalised in the reporting year and presented to the Minister of Justice and Security in early 2024.
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The supervisory task can be fulfilled not only through thematic investigations, but also through incident investigations into actual events. In 2023, an incident investigation was launched in relation to the stabbing incident at a supermarket on the Turfmarkt in The Hague on 20 June 2023. The investigation is being conducted in addition to the investigation by the Inspectorate of Justice and Security. Among other things, the investigation is aimed at gaining more insight into the information on the physical health of the suspect that was known to the Public Prosecution Service in the years prior to the stabbing incident and insight into how the Public Prosecution Service used this knowledge in carrying out its legal duties. The results of the investigation are expected in 2024.
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Lastly, an investigation was started in 2023, the main focus of which was whether the Public Prosecution Service properly complies with the applicable legal provisions when dismissing criminal cases. The results of the investigation are expected in 2024.