3. Private Prosecutions
3.1 Not all prosecutions are initiated by police officers or other officials acting in the course of their public duty. The right of a private individual to institute a prosecution has been described as "a valuable constitutional safeguard against inertia or partiality on the part of authority" (per Lord Wilberforce in Gouriet v The Union of Post Office Workers [1978] AC 435 at 477). Unfortunately this right is sometimes abused and, from time to time, private prosecutions instituted for quite improper motives. Furthermore, even where a prosecution has been initiated in good faith there may be sound reasons why the carriage of the matter should not remain within the discretion of a private individual. In some cases there may be sound reasons why it should not proceed at all. Consequently, section 8 of the Act enables the Director to take over the conduct of prosecutions initiated by another person. Thereafter the prosecution may be continued or brought to an end.3.2 Section 13 of the Act provides that where the Director has taken over the conduct of a private prosecution or is considering doing so the informant must provide a full report of the circumstances giving rise to the prosecution together with copies of the statements of any witnesses and other documentary evidence and furnish any further information the Director requires. In addition, section 14 enables the Director to seek police assistance in investigating the matter. These provisions enable a full assessment to be made of the prosecution case before any decision is made or, alternatively, after the matter has been taken over.
3.3 Given the infinite range of circumstances which may give rise to a private prosecution it is impracticable to lay down any inflexible rules as to the manner in which the discretion will be exercised. In general, however, a private prosecutor will be permitted to retain the conduct of the proceedings unless:
- There is insufficient evidence to justify the continuation of the prosecution;
- The prosecution is not in the public interest;
- There are reasons for suspecting that the decision to institute a private prosecution was actuated by improper motives or otherwise constituted an abuse of the prosecution process; or
- It would not be in the interests of justice for the conduct of the prosecution to remain within the discretion of a private individual having regard to the gravity of the offence and all the surrounding circumstances.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2011-12 DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS 74
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