DECISION TO PROSECUTE The public prosecutor under Article 145 of the Federal Constitution has vast discretionary power to institute, conduct and to discontinue a criminal prosecution. By such vast power, the public prosecutor has a duty to weigh carefully and to consider all available evidence and the pros and cons of a case to be prosecuted. Prosecutions that are not well founded in law and in fact, or which do not serve the public interest may not be brought to court. On the other hand, the failure to effectively prosecute a meritorious case can also erode public confidence on the public prosecutor. Considerable care therefore, must be taken to ensure that the best decision should be made, but prosecutorial discretion cannot and should not be reduced to something like a mathematical formula where there is a clear and obvious answer. The whole policy in public prosecution should be to ensure objectively a fair prosecution, not simply to prosecute the guilty and to avoid prosecuting the innocent, but, rather that prosecutions should be initiated only in cases in which there is sufficient evidence and where prosecution is justified in the public interest. In order to come to a decision, the public […]
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