The Public Prosecution Service said there will be no blanket transfer of pending cases, responding to concerns that about 180,000 unresolved cases could be handed over to police and other investigative agencies all at once following the agency's launch. It said the transfer of about 1,980 cases in which prosecutors directly issued wanted notices has already been completed, and that some 300 of the cases prosecutors opened investigations into themselves have been designated for priority transfer and are being handed over in stages.
In a statement on pending case handling released on the 19th, the service said that "most of the pending cases currently held by the Public Prosecution Service are cases that police and other investigative agencies have finished investigating and referred to us," adding that "not all 180,000 cases will be sent to police or subjected to requests for supplementary investigation." The statement followed concerns raised since the agency's launch over the workload of investigative agencies and delays in case handling amid the transfer of a large volume of pending cases. Critics noted in particular that the abolition of both direct investigations and supplementary investigations by prosecutors could sharply increase the workload of the police and the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, which take over existing cases. According to the service, pending cases nationwide totaled 186,307 as of the end of September, up 21,485 cases, or 13%, from 164,822 at the end of August.
Most pending cases were found to be ones in which prosecutors must review individual case files and decide whether to bring charges. Only cases requiring further investigation will be handled by asking police or other investigative agencies to conduct supplementary investigations, it said. The structure is not one in which all pending cases are passed to other investigative agencies.
"It is difficult to estimate precisely how many cases will be subject to requests for supplementary investigation going forward, but over the past five years such requests were made in 10.47% of referred cases," the service said. "Some increase in that ratio is unavoidable given the abolition of supplementary investigations by prosecutors, but even then, requests will be made in sequence after prosecutors at the Public Prosecution Service review each case."
The service also reaffirmed its policy of transferring in stages the cases that prosecutors had previously investigated directly. Under the revised Public Prosecution Service Act and the Criminal Procedure Act, the agency must either dispose of existing investigations or hand them to the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, the police or other agencies with jurisdiction during a grace period of up to 90 days.
After consulting with investigative agencies, the service completed the transfer of about 1,980 cases in which prosecutors had directly issued wanted notices or sought arrest warrants. Separately, it selected some 300 of the cases prosecutors had opened themselves for priority transfer and is now sending them to the Major Crimes Investigation Agency and the police in stages.
An official at the service said, "We will work closely with the police and other investigative agencies to do our utmost to ensure that the overhaul of the criminal justice system does not cause delays in case handling or inconvenience to the public."