The National Prosecution Authority
The independent National Prosecution Authority is a State authority and part of the judicial system. Its task is to ensure the realisation of criminal liability, i.e. that the proper statutory punishment is attached to a criminal act.
The National Prosecution Authority is a key actor in the processing chain of criminal matters and is the only authority involved at all stages of processing a criminal matter: the pre-trial investigation, the consideration of charges and the trial. In the decisions they make in prosecution matters, prosecutors are autonomous and independent administrators of justice.
The National Prosecution Authority belongs to the administrative branch of the Ministry of Justice.
Organisation
The National Prosecution Authority employs around 550 people, around 400 of which are prosecutors. Additionally, around 150 persons work at the National Prosecution Authority in various support and expert duties.
The National Prosecution Authority comprises the Office of the Prosecutor General that acts as the general administrative unit, and five prosecution districts: Southern Finland, Western Finland, Northern Finland, Eastern Finland and Åland. The National Prosecution Authority has 34 offices around Finland.
The Prosecutor General leads the National Prosecution Authority as the supreme prosecutor in the country. The Office of the Prosecutor General is responsible for the central administration, steering and oversight of the National Prosecution Authority, and the operational prerequisities of the prosecutor's offices. The prosecution districts are responsible for the actual prosecution activities.
The operations of the National Prosecution Authority are provided for by law:
Act on the National Prosecution Authority 32/2019
Government Decree on the National Prosecution Authority 798/2019
There was an operations reform on 1 October 2019
The National Prosecution Authority carried out an operational and organisational reform on 1 October 2019, when it started its operations as a national authority.