On November 1, 2023, the amended Regulations on Mutual Cooperation Between Prosecutors and Judicial Police Officers and General Investigation Rules (the “General Investigation Rules”) came into effect, ushering in significant changes to the relationship between the police and the PO in criminal investigations. According to the Ministry of Justice, the amendments are intended to address issues that have emerged in investigations since the adjustment of investigative powers between the two law enforcement agencies starting in 2021. These issues include delays in investigations, insufficient investigations, and poor collaboration between the PO and the police.
Key Provisions of the Amendment
While the amendment includes modifications to various detailed rules, the key changes can be summarized as follows:
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Expanded Role of PO in Supplemental Investigations: Prior to the amendments, the general rule was that the PO could request the police to conduct supplemental investigations. The PO could conduct supplemental investigations on its own only in exceptional cases. As a result of the amendments, however, the PO and the police now share the responsibility of conducting supplemental investigations, and the PO can directly conduct supplemental investigations for criminal referrals made by the police. |
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Disposition of “No Referral” Case by Police: Prior to the amendments, the police had expanded authority to refuse to re-investigate a case in which the police originally determined there was no basis for charges, even if the PO requested further investigation of the case. As a result of the amendments, the PO now has the authority to demand criminal referral for further investigation, even when the police have made a decision not to make a criminal referral to the PO. |
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Investigation Delay: The amendment requires law enforcement agencies to promptly launch an investigation upon receiving a complaint or accusation. |
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Cooperation Between Police and PO: The amendment calls for the strengthening of collaboration between the PO and the police in the overall investigation process, encouraging proactive consultations between the PO and the police on, among others, transfer or criminal referral of cases. |
Implications
One of the key tenets in prosecution reform has been the exclusive authority of the police to conduct supplemental investigations, as the authority to instruct supplemental investigations was perceived as being abused by prosecutors. The implementation of the amended General Investigation Rules has substantially eroded this exclusive authority, and therefore has worked against the intent of prosecution reform. With the PO now actively conducting supplemental investigations under their own direction, we anticipate that the PO’s authority, role and leadership will once again play an important role in criminal investigations.
At the same time, there is a general expectation that the amended General Investigation Rules as a whole will (i) lead to an increase in the number of criminal investigations initiated based on complaints or accusations, (ii) introduce systematic management of cases, and (iii) enhance overall efficiency and accountability. In turn, these trends can work to accelerate the speed of investigations and reduce the number of unresolved cases, potentially leading to an increase in the overall volume of active criminal investigations.
In particular, with an increased workload for law enforcement agencies, the time spent on each case by the police and the PO may decrease. Therefore, given the shorter timeframe available for responding to investigations, swift and proactive advocacy by legal counsel will become even more critical.
Related Topics
#General Investigation Rules #Amendment #Compliance #Outlook #Legal Update
