The Prosecution Office is an institution of judicial power that independently supervises the compliance with the law within the scope of its statutory competence. The task of the Prosecution Office is to react to a violation of law and to ensure that the case is dealt with in accordance with the law. According to the “Office of the Prosecutor Law” adopted on 19 May 1994, the Prosecution Office is a unified, centralised, three-level system headed by the Prosecutor General, whose task is to react to the violation of the law and to ensure that the case is dealt with in accordance with the law.
The work of the structural units of the Prosecution Office is controlled by the Prosecutor General, who also determines their internal structure and staff in accordance with the State budget.
The functions of the Prosecution Office are:
supervise the compliance with legislative acts of the preliminary investigation and intelligence activities, reconnaissance and counterintelligence processes of the national security institutions and of the system for protection of the State secret;
conduct pre-trial investigation;
initiate and conduct criminal prosecution;
maintain the State prosecution;
supervise the execution of punishments;
protect the rights and lawful interests of individuals and the State in accordance with the procedures established by law;
submit a statement of claim or a motion to the court in the cases specified by law;
take part in court hearings in the cases provided for by the law.
The indirect influence of the legislative power on the Prosecution Office as an institution of judicial power is reflected in the following:
the activities of the Prosecution Office are governed by the law adopted by the Saeima (the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia);
the Prosecutor General is appointed by the Saeima;
when adopting the law on the State budget, the Saeima determines the amount of funding allocated for the Prosecution Office;
the Saeima has the right to request the Prosecution Office to conduct the examination of certain facts implying a violation of the law;
the Prosecutor General is obliged to report to the Saeima if any significant breaches of the law that are of national importance are discovered.
The indirect influence of the executive power on the Prosecution Office is reflected in the following:
the Cabinet of Ministers has the right to request the Prosecution Office to conduct the examination of certain facts implying a violation of the law;
the Prosecutor General is obliged to report to the Cabinet of Ministers if any significant breaches of the law that are of national importance are discovered;
the executive power, within the scope of its powers, controls the implementation of regulatory acts governing certain areas of activity, for example – compliance with fire safety requirements.
The prosecutor, on the other hand, has the right to file a protest against the legal acts adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers and public administration institutions or their officials that do not comply with the law. The Prosecutor General and the Chief Prosecutors of the Departments of the Office of the Prosecutor General have the right to participate in the meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers and express their opinion regarding the topics that are under consideration and the compliance of draft regulatory acts with the Satversme (the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia) and laws. In addition, the Prosecutor General, upon finding that the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers contradict the Satversme and laws, has the right to submit an application to the Constitutional Court.
Every year, the Prosecutor General publicly reports on the results of the work of the Prosecution Office and sets priorities for the upcoming year. The report of the Prosecutor General is published in the media and is also available on the website of the Prosecution Office www.lrp.gov.lv (in Latvian).
When examining specific cases, the prosecutor makes his decisions independently and individually, based on his convictions and laws, respecting the equality of persons before the law and the court, the presumption of innocence, truth and legality.
The prosecutor is independent from the influence of other public institutions or officials and obeys only the law. His legal requirements are binding on all persons within the territory of the Republic of Latvia.
The position of a prosecutor is not compatible with the membership in political parties or other political organizations. Rallies, pickets and other actions in the premises of the Prosecution Office are prohibited.
