In the proposed bill ‘Settlement by the public prosecutor office’ the present transaction and the conditional dismission are being turned into a penal order. For the first time in the history of the Dutch penal process the public prosecutor office is authorized to apply sanctions itself. This change of criminal proceedings has led to many questions and discussions. Sometimes these are of a more fundamental nature, especially when the position of the public prosecutor is under discussion. Sometimes there still is insecurity on whether the organisation of the sanctioning by the public prosecutor is constantly well balanced. This leads to a situation in which it is not always clear that the desired effects are in fact sufficiently produced and undesired side effects do not materialize. A transitional arrangement has therefore been chosen. This arrangement will give the opportunity to keep a finger on the pulse and steer away from unwanted consequences if necessary. This way risks are controllable and it is possible to emphatically steer towards a clear improvement of the way penal law cases are being treated. (Author/publisher)
Abstract