The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several jurisdictions around the world.

Republic of Ireland

The Director of Public Prosecutions has been responsible for prosecution, in the name of the People, of all indictable criminal offences in the Republic of Ireland since the enactment of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 . Before 1974 all crimes and offences were prosecuted at the suit of the Attorney General.

James Hamilton currently holds this position in the Republic of Ireland.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the office of Director of Public Prosecutions was first created in 1880 as part of the Home Office, and had its own department from 1908. The DPP was only responsible for the prosecution of a small number of major cases until 1986 when responsibility for prosecutions was transferred to a new Crown Prosecution Service with the DPP as its head.

Australia

Australia has a Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, which was set up by the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983 and started operations in 1984. Australian states and territories also have their own DPPs.

External links

• History of the United Kingdom DPP and CPS
• Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions — website of the Irish Director of Public Prosecutions
• Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions — website of the Australian federal Director of Public Prosecutions