PART II. PART II. THE PROSECUTOR. CHAPTER IV. THE PRIVATE PROSECUTOR. In the Queen is centered the Majesty of the whole community, and is supposed by law to be the person injured by every infraction of the public rights, and is therefore the prosecutor for every public offence; for this reason all proceedings ad vindictam et pænam are called in the law the pleas of the Crown. Criminal prosecutions are carried on in the name of the Queen, and have for their principal object the security and happiness of the people in general, and not mere private redress. But as offences generally particularly affect a private individual, the person so affected usually takes the proceedings to bring the offender to justice, though there is nothing as a general rule to prevent anyone taking criminal proceedings against a person whom he suspects to be guilty of a crime. A private individual must be careful as to arresting a party for an offence or in putting the law in motion against him, for if a party is arrested for an offence of which he is not guilty he may in general maintain an action for damages against the person who arrested him. But a private individual may justify in a civil action where he only sets the law in motion, as by applying to a justice for a warrant to arrest the supposed offender or the like, if he acted bona fide and with reasonable and probable cause. This matter is further noticed Ch. XI. The Criminal Code Commissioners state, at p. 31 of their report, that the civil remedy for any wrongful act is not affected by the fact that the act is a crime, and they refer to Wills v. Abraham, L. R. 7 Q. B. 854, and Osborne v. Gillett, L. R. 8 Ex. 88; Blake v. The Albion Life Assurance Society, 14 Cox C. C. 247. CHAPTER V. THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS. CHAP. V. THE Prosecution of Offences Act, 1879, the 42 & 43 Vict. Director of c. 22, authorizes the appointment of an officer to be called public the Director of Public Prosecutions (a). prosecu His duties. By sect. 2, it shall be the duty of the Director of Public tions. Prosecutions, under the superintendence of the AttorneyGeneral, to institute, undertake, or carry on such criminal proceedings (whether in the Court for Crown Cases Reserved, before sessions of oyer and terminer, or of the peace, before magistrates, or otherwise) and to give such advice and assistance to the chief officers of police, clerks to justices, and other persons, whether officers or not, concerned in any criminal proceeding respecting the conduct of that proceeding, as may be for the time being prescribed by regulations (b) under this Act, or may be directed in a special case by the Attorney-General. The regulations (b) under this Act shall provide for the Director of Public Prosecutions taking action in cases which appear to be of importance or difficulty, or in which special circumstances, or the refusal or failure of a person to proceed with a prosecution, appear to render the action of such director necessary to secure the due prosecution of an offender, and shall also fix the areas or districts for which the assistants of such director shall respectively be appointed and act. Sect. 5. Where the Director of Public Prosecutions gives Deposinotice to any justice or coroner that he has instituted, or tions, &c., undertaken, or is carrying on any criminal proceeding, such to be sent justice and coroner shall, at the time and in the manner pre- to him. scribed by the regulations (b) under this Act, or directed in any special case by an order of the Attorney-General, transmit to the said director every recognizance, information, certificate, inquisition, deposition, document, and thing which is (a) By sect. 3 certain assistants, clerks, &c., are to be appointed. Sect. 4 relates to the qualification of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and his assistant. The latter may act for the whole of England and Wales; see reg. 5, post, p. 23. (b) See post, p. 21. PART II. connected with the said proceeding, and which the justice or coroner is required by law to deliver to the proper officer of the court in which the trial is to be heard, and the said director shall, subject to the regulations under this Act, cause the same to be delivered to the said proper officer of the court, and shall be under the same obligation, on the same payment, to deliver to an applicant copies thereof as the said justice, coroner, or officer. It shall be the duty of every clerk to a justice or to a police court to transmit, in accordance with the regulations under this Act, (a) to the Director of Public Prosecutions, a copy of the information and of all depositions and other documents relating to any case in which a prosecution for an offence instituted before such justice or court is withdrawn or is not proceeded with within a reasonable time. A failure on the part of any justice or coroner to comply with this section shall be deemed to be a failure to comply with the said requirement to deliver to the proper officer of the court, and any clerk to a justice or to a police court failing to comply with this section shall be liable to the same penalty to which a justice or coroner is liable for such failure as aforesaid. Where tions Sect. 6. Where any criminal proceeding has been instituted or undertaken by the Director of Public Prosecutions, any person having the right to institute and carry on such proceedings may, if he have good cause for so doing, show, abandons by affidavit to any judge of the High Court of Justice, that proceedsuch Director of Public Prosecutious has abandoned such proceedings, or has neglected duly to carry on the same, and such judge, after hearing such Director of Public Prosecutions, may give such directions as to the mode in which such proceedings shall be continued by such person so applying, or by the said Director of Public Prosecutions, as to such judge shall appear right. ings. Saving as By sect. 7, nothing in this Act shall interfere with the right to private of any person to institute, undertake, or carry on any prosecutor, criminal proceeding. and bind. ing over persons to Where any criminal proceeding is instituted, undertaken, or carried on by the Director of Public Prosecutions, such prosecute. director shall not be bound over to prosecute or conduct such proceeding, or required to give security for costs, and it shall not be necessary to bind over any person to prosecute or conduct such proceeding, and if any person is so bound over, or has given security for costs, he shall, upon the Director of Public Prosecutions undertaking the case, be (a) See post, p. 23. released from such obligation, and the security shall be CHAP. V. deemed to have been cancelled, and the Director of Public Prosecutions shall be liable to costs in lieu of such person. The prosecution of an offender by the Director of Public Prosecutions shall, for the purpose of enabling a person to obtain a restitution of property, or obtaining, exercising, or enforcing any right, claim, or advantage whatsoever, have the same effect as if such person had been bound over to prosecute and had prosecuted the offender, subject to this proviso, that such person shall give all reasonable information and assistance to the said director in relation to the prosecution. be made. Sect. 8. The Attorney-General with the approval of the RegulaLord Chancellor and a Secretary of State, may from time to tions may time make, and when made rescind, vary, and add to, regulations for carrying into effect this Act. The draft of all such regulations proposed to be approved as aforesaid shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament, and shall not be finally approved as aforesaid until the draft has lain before each House of Parliament for not less than 40 days upon which such House has sat. Sect. 9. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, Interprethe following terms have the meanings hereinafter respectively tation assigned to them; that is to say, The term "the Treasury' means the Commisioners of Her Majesty's Treasury: The term "Secretary of State" means one of Her Majesty's The term "person" includes a body of persons corporate Attorney-General means Her By sect. 10, the Act came into operation on the 1st day of clause. The following rules for the guidance of justices of the Regulapeace, and others, in regard to the conduct of public prosecu- tions made tions under the provisions of the Prosecution of Offences under the Act have been approved by the Lord Chancellor and the Home Secretary. The Director of Public Prosecutions shall be required to take action in such classes of cases as have hitherto been conducted by the Solicitor to the Treasury, by order of the Act. PART II. Secretary of State, and in other cases for the proper conbesting us waicu. u dia opinion, to erdinary mode of prosecution is insufficient. The following rules are to be applied only to such cases: Director Prosecu tions giving advice. 1. It shall be the duty of the Director of Public Prosecuof Public tions to give advice in cases of importance and difficulty to justices of the peace, to clerks to justices of the peace, and to chief officers of police who may apply for his advice in such cases, and to other persons in his discretion, subject to any special instruction which he may receive from the Attorney-General. Advice so given may, at the discretion of the Director of Public Prosecutions, be given verbally or in writing. Authoriz costs. prosecu 2. The Director of Public Prosecutions may assist ing special tors by authorizing them to incur special costs for the purpose of (a) the preparation of scientific evidence; (b) the remuneration of scientific witnesses; (c) the payment of extra fees to counsel; (d) the preparation of plans or models; (e) and in respect of any special matter in such cases as the AttorneyGeneral may sanction. So much of the costs that are thus authorized by the Director of Public Prosecutions as shall not be allowed on taxation, and paid by the authority that defrays the costs of the prosecution, and are found, after examination by the Solicitor of Her Majesty's Treasury, to be reasonable and proper, shall be paid by the said solicitor. Notice of 3. Upon every application made by a prosecutor to withwithdraw from a prosecution, the clerk to the justices or to the drawal police court before whom the prosecution has been, to which from prosecution to such application is made, shall forthwith give notice to the be given, Director of Public Prosecutions of such application, and of the reasons for making it. If any prosecution instituted before a justice of the peace or a police magistrate, be not carried on within reasonable time, or be not proceeded with in consequence of an apparent improper refusal or failure of anyone who ought to proceed therewith, the clerk shall forthwith give notice to the Director of Public Prosecutions of any such delay, refusal, or failure, and of the cause of the same if it be known. And in all cases to which this rule applies he shall also, when required, forthwith transmit to the Director of Public Prosecutions, by post, a copy of the information, and of all depositions and other documents relating to the case in which such notice is given. In what cases Director to take action. 4. In all cases in which there is any delay in proceeding with a prosecution, or in which good cause is shown for any refusal or failure to proceed, and which appear to the Director of Public Prosecutions to be of importance or difficulty, or in |