Vander Beken & Balcaen, 2009

Tom Vander Beken and Annelies Balcaen, Strafvorderingsrichtlijnen voor het openbaar ministerie: een (nieuwe) schakel in de veiligheidsketen? [Sentencing guidelines for the public prosecution: a (new) link in the security chain?], Cahiers Politiestudies 2009/03, 109-135

The public prosecutor is a crucial player in the criminal procedure. This actor has always had a huge discretion in deciding on the opportunity to prosecute. The last years, this freedom has increasingly become subject of discussion. In Belgium a number of initiatives have already been taken to develop a more transparent prosecution policy. Those initiatives limit the freedom of decision making of the public prosecutor. The question arises however, whether more far-reaching reforms are desirable. In answer to this question, an analysis is made of the Dutch prosecution guidelines and of the possible added value of such guidelines for the prosecution policy in Belgium.

Full publication (Dutch) here.