Regulation on the Organization and Operation of the Public Prosecutor's Office (ROFMPu) - Scope of Application (ROFMPU)

1. This regulation defines the general organization and administrative functioning of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

1. The [C] organs of the Public Prosecutor's Office are

a. the Prosecutor General;

b. the College of Prosecutors (hereinafter: the College);

c. the Enlarged Directorate.

1. The Attorney General exercises the powers that the law [A] grants him concerning the conduct of the College and the representation of the Public Prosecutor's Office. He serves as the head of the department.

2. The Attorney General represents the Public Prosecutor's Office in its relations with the Grand Council and the State Council concerning financial matters.

3. Decisions subject to the Attorney General's review or approval by law are defined in a directive from the latter. The Attorney General waives his powers of review or approval over decisions not listed, subject to a temporary review whose purpose is defined in a specific directive.

4. The Attorney General may delegate to leading prosecutors the authority to permit Public Prosecutor's Office staff to carry out procedural acts (art. 28 LVCPP [B]).

5. The Attorney General has authority over external communication; he may delegate the exercise of this authority.

1. The College exercises the powers conferred upon it by law. It is competent for any decision not specifically attributed to another body. It defines the main efforts of the Public Prosecutor's Office in its fight against crime, as well as the principles of internal and external communication.

2. The College is competent to refer matters to the Judicial Council on behalf of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

3. The College adopts the annual activity report to be submitted by the Attorney General to the Judicial Council and provides the latter with any other information useful for the exercise of its competencies.

4. The College exercises the financial governance of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

1. The College appoints the other chief prosecutors and, upon their recommendation, their deputies. It also appoints the deputies of the division heads upon their recommendation. It may appoint reference prosecutors in specific fields, upon the recommendation of the relevant chief prosecutor, if applicable.

2. The College ratifies the judicial discharge of members of the Council of the Judiciary, chief prosecutors, and, where applicable, reference prosecutors.

3. The College determines the functions of collaborators whose engagement or appointment falls within its competence.

1. The Board may delegate all tasks except those that the law exclusively assigns to it.

2. The Board may require the participation of a prosecutor or a staff member in an internal or external working group of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

1. The Enlarged Management consists of the members of the College, the other leading prosecutors, and the Secretary General.

2. There must be no kinship or direct lineage alliance, nor any collateral kinship up to the third degree inclusive, nor a registered partnership or de facto cohabitation between two members of the Enlarged Management.

3. Other prosecutors or collaborators of the Public Prosecutor's Office may be invited to attend the sessions of the Enlarged Management.

1. The Extended Management meets regularly. The meetings are chaired by the Attorney General or one of the Deputy Attorney Generals. The minutes of the meeting are intended for internal use; they are confidential.

2. The Chief Prosecutors and Division Heads report on the functioning of their entity.

3. The College consults the Extended Management on essential matters related to the organization and functioning of the entire Public Prosecutor's Office.

4. To the extent useful, the College provides for the internal dissemination of matters addressed by the Extended Management.

1. The Public Prosecutor's Office is composed of five offices, which are

a. the Central Public Prosecutor's Office (MPc), with its seat in Renens;

b. the Eastern Vaud District Public Prosecutor's Office (MPaEV), with its seat in Vevey;

c. the Lausanne District Public Prosecutor's Office (MPaLN), with its seat in Lausanne;

d. the La Côte District Public Prosecutor's Office (MPaLC), with its seat in Morges;

e. the Northern Vaud District Public Prosecutor's Office (MPaNV), with its seat in Yverdon-les-Bains.

2. It also includes the Cantonal Public Prosecutor's Office STRADA (MPStrada), the seat of which is at the MPaLN.

3. The Attorney General is responsible for the organization of the MPc. He acts as the head of the office.

4. The District Public Prosecutor's Offices (MPa) and the MPStrada are led by a directing prosecutor. The first district prosecutors act as the head of the office.

1. The general secretariat is responsible for the organizational and management tasks of the entire Public Prosecutor's Office. It is placed under the responsibility of a Secretary-General.

2. The Secretary-General is subordinate to the College.

1. The Secretary-General prepares the functional and administrative planning of the Public Prosecutor's Office, which notably determines the objectives, needs, resources to be obtained, and completion deadlines. They submit it to the College.

2. In their areas of competence, the Secretary-General is the representative of the State services and other partners of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

3. The Secretary-General prepares the draft budget of the Public Prosecutor’s Office according to the College's directives and submits it to them. They regularly present the monitoring of expenditures to the College and submit requests for additional credits. They prepare the annual accounts and submit them to the College.

4. The Secretary-General provides support to all entities of the Public Prosecutor's Office regarding process management and organization. They may issue instructions for coordination purposes. They organize and oversee the handover of public ministries.

**1. The General Secretariat contributes to the definition and then the implementation of the Public Prosecutor's Office strategy concerning human resources. It ensures efficient management of personnel, particularly in terms of defining internal positions, recruitment, training, and monitoring of staff.**

**2. Subject to the functions for which appointment falls under the College (art. 5 para. 3), all prerogatives of the appointing authority are delegated to the Secretary-General; he is notably competent for the hiring and assignment of the Public Prosecutor's Office staff (art. 15 para. 1 LMPu).**

**3. The General Secretariat implements the initial and continuous training plans defined by the College, which may be made mandatory. It ensures compliance with the budget allocated to training.**

1. The MPc comprises the Registry of the Prosecutor General, administrative and judicial support to the College, as well as the General Secretariat.

2. For the exercise of its judicial activities, the MPc is organized into two divisions

a. the Division of Special Affairs (DIVAS);

b. the Division of Economic Criminality (DIVECO).

3. Each division is headed by a Deputy Prosecutor General. The latter exercises, with regard to their division, the powers provided for in articles 18 and 19, subject to article 9, paragraph 3.

1. The MPC conducts complex investigations whose nature, sensitivity, or scope particularly require centralized processing or certain specialized skills.

2. The DIVAS conducts these investigations, subject to the powers of the Attorney General and the DIVECO.

3. The DIVAS exercises, by delegation from the Attorney General, control over decisions made by district prosecutors and the competent criminal authorities in matters of infringements (Art. 29 LVCPP [B]).

4. The DIVAS is competent to support the prosecution or to file appeals and legal remedies in cases handled by the competent criminal authorities in matters of infringements.

5. The DIVAS exercises the powers that the law attributes to the juvenile public prosecutor's office.

6. The DIVECO conducts complex investigations in matters of economic crime or cybercrime of a financial nature.

7. The DIVECO exercises the powers that the law attributes to the public prosecutor's office in matters of judicial assistance and jurisdictional conflicts.

1. Public Prosecutors (MPa) handle matters that fall within their territorial jurisdiction. Excluded from this are the responsibilities of the Federal Public Prosecutor (MPc) and the Military Prosecutor (MPStrada), as well as those provided for in Articles 23 and 24.

1. The MPStrada is primarily competent for the criminal prosecution of offenses related to drug legislation and certain offenses against property. Its jurisdiction extends throughout the entire canton. It is administratively affiliated with the MPaLN.

1. When a prosecutor believes that the case they are handling might fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal Prosecutor's Office, they submit the file with their explanations to the Chief Prosecutor. If the Chief Prosecutor agrees, they present the file to the relevant division. In the event of a disagreement among leading prosecutors, the Attorney General decides on the potential application of Article 23a of the Federal Prosecution Act [A].

2. In case of an emergency during on-call duty, the duty prosecutor of the DIVAS decides on the potential immediate takeover of the case.

1. The chief prosecutors of the Public Prosecutor's Offices hold the title of Chief Prosecutor. They administratively manage their entity and ensure its proper functioning. They may issue instructions for this purpose. They coordinate and control the activities of the prosecutors and collaborators within their entity. They ensure the efficient use of the resources allocated to them.

2. The chief prosecutors regularly inform the prosecutors of their entity about aspects useful for the exercise of their function. They consult them when their opinion is required. They provide the College and the General Secretariat with all the information necessary for the conduct and proper operation of the Public Prosecutor's Office in a timely manner.

3. The chief prosecutors determine and organize the delegation of powers within the limits of the instructions they receive.

1. Chief Prosecutors inform the General Secretariat of their needs regarding the hiring or replacement of personnel. A Chief Prosecutor participates in the recruitment process of candidates.

2. Chief Prosecutors ensure, within their entity, the continuous training of prosecutors and, with their support, supervise that of their collaborators.

3. Chief Prosecutors are accountable to the College for the proper functioning of their entity. To this end, they specifically monitor the absences of collaborators; they are authorized to order overtime for the collaborators of their entity and promptly inform the General Secretariat for validation; they coordinate the absences of prosecutors and ensure their effective substitution; they control service expenditures.

4. Chief Prosecutors actively contribute to the succession policy of the Public Prosecutor's Office and, in this regard, proceed with the detection and evaluation of the development aspirations of the prosecutors and collaborators of their entity.

5. Chief Prosecutors submit to the General Secretariat any situation where a procedure for warning or termination of employment relations against a collaborator should be considered.

1. The prosecutor leading the MPStrada holds the title of Principal Prosecutor.

2. Articles 18 and 19 apply by analogy, subject to the coordination required due to the administrative attachment of the MPStrada to the MPaLN.

1. In their role as members of the College, the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorneys General do not have a replacement.

2. The decisions of the College are made by majority vote. They can also be made by circular resolution. In the absence of a member, decisions can be validly made by two members. If there is a tie, the vote of the Attorney General, or in his absence, that of his deputy, is decisive. In the absence of two members, the present member of the College can validly make any urgent decision; they must promptly inform the other members.

3. The minutes of the College meetings are intended for internal use; they are confidential.

1. The College may allocate among its members, by domain, the responsibility for overseeing the activities of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

1. Any document to be submitted to the College via official channels (art. 20 RLPers) must be delivered to the concerned managing prosecutor, who will forward it to the General Secretariat, potentially accompanied by his or her report.

1. As a general rule, the appointment of a public prosecutor must be preceded by a public announcement indicating the vacant position, the conditions required of candidates, the application deadline, and the salary grade.

2. If this announcement does not yield satisfactory results, the College may either renew it or proceed by way of appeal.

3. The College forms a commission responsible for examining the applications, which submits its report to the College.

4. The appointment of a deputy or assistant prosecutor may immediately take place by way of appeal and through a simplified process.

1. The College determines the assignment of prosecutors based on the needs of the Public Prosecutor's Office entities. It periodically assesses these needs.

2. The administrative attachment of a prosecutor to one of the district public prosecutor's offices, the MPStrada, or a division does not limit their jurisdictional competence by location or subject matter (Art. 3 para. 1 and Art. 26 para. 2 LMPu [A] ).

1. The Public Prosecutor's Office ensures a permanent duty service.

2. Except in special cases, this service is provided by the prosecutors and staff of the MPa and MPStrada, supported by an on-call prosecutor from DIVAS.

1. Once per legislature, the College conducts an interview with each of the prosecutors concerning the overall assessment of their activities.

2. Other interviews are held at the initiative of the College or at the request of the concerned prosecutor when circumstances necessitate them. They may notably lead to the setting of objectives.

3. The College may delegate the conduct of the interviews provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 to one of its members.

4. Regarding interviews with a substitute or assistant prosecutor, the College may delegate its powers to another lead prosecutor.

1. In the event of the prolonged absence of a prosecutor, the College may appoint an interim prosecutor as a replacement. It proceeds through the appeal process.

1. When it must appoint a special prosecutor, the College proceeds by way of appeal.

1. At the beginning of each legislature, the College designates from among the appointed prosecutors those to whom it assigns a leading role.

2. The College may reassign the leading prosecutor role to another prosecutor during the course of the legislature if the proper functioning of the concerned entity depends on it.

3. Any designation must be preceded by an internal call for applications.

4. The present article applies by analogy to the deputies of the leading prosecutors; the internal call is limited to the concerned entity.

1. Each prosecutor directs the associates assigned to them.

2. Each prosecutor organizes and oversees the activities of these associates, ensuring a regular assessment of their level of competence and providing them with complete information on any point useful for their activity.

3. Each prosecutor reports to the relevant supervising prosecutor any associate who breaches their obligations.

1. When there is a need to fill or refill a position within the Judicial Council (art. 5 para. 1 let. c JCL [D]), the College conducts an internal call.

2. All candidates are interviewed.

3. The Association of Vaud Prosecutors (AVP) and the Extended Directorate of the Public Prosecutor's Office are successively consulted.

1. The College oversees the functioning and management of the entire Public Prosecutor's Office.

2. The College may require the production of any necessary information or documents.

1. The oversight of the judicial organization and the administrative functioning of the leading prosecutors is exercised by one or more members of the College. The College may issue them instructions regarding organization and functioning and admonish them if necessary.

2. The College generally conducts a formal follow-up and development interview with the leading prosecutors at mid-term of the legislative period.

1. Oversight of the judicial organization and the administrative functioning of other prosecutors is delegated by the College to the relevant leading prosecutor. Within this framework, the leading prosecutor can intervene with the prosecutors under their jurisdiction and give them organizational and operational instructions; the College is informed of these actions and may call them to order if necessary.

2. The leading prosecutor generally conducts a formal follow-up and development interview with the prosecutors of their entity midway through the legislative term.

3. The relevant leading prosecutor reports to the College any prosecutor who violates their obligations.

1. Prosecutors and collaborators of the Public Prosecutor's Office must notify any part-time or ancillary activity to the General Secretariat.

2. The College ensures that the part-time or ancillary activities of prosecutors are compatible with their duties (art. 12 and 13 LMPu [A]).

3. Income from ancillary activities of prosecutors may be subject to reimbursement.

4. The Secretary-General rules on matters of ancillary activities or public duties concerning collaborators of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

1. The judicial activity of prosecutors shall not be subject to any assessment within the framework of a work certificate.

1. At least once a year, in order to strengthen communication and exchange with members of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the College or a delegation thereof, and the Secretary-General visit the entities of the Public Prosecutor's Office to discuss administrative, organizational, or jurisdictional issues, as well as any other aspects pertaining to the functioning of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

1. The College may conduct an inspection of the public prosecutor's offices. It may assign a prosecutor or an external expert outside the Public Prosecutor's Office to carry out a targeted inspection or a special mission.

1. Chief prosecutors send statistical tables and their annual report to the Secretary-General within the timeframes set by the College.

2. The Secretary-General forwards these documents to the Attorney General, along with any comments he may have and all relevant numerical data or other useful information. He includes his own annual report as well.

3. Once it has been sent to the Judicial Council, the College publishes the annual activity report of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

1. The College convenes all prosecutors and staff for an annual meeting aimed at providing them with general information on the outcomes of the past year, the objectives, projects, and any other matters concerning the activity and functioning of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

1. The general instructions of the College consist of directives, notes, and recommendations.

2. The directives relate to matters concerning the organization or activity of the Public Prosecutor's Office that have an external effect. As such, they are published.

3. The notes refer to matters related to the organization or activity of the Public Prosecutor's Office that only have an internal scope. As such, they are not public.

4. The recommendations provide, within the limits set by Article 23, paragraph 3 LMPu [A], guidelines regarding the application of substantive or procedural law, with the aim of harmonizing practices (art. 16 para. 1 CPP [E]). As such, they are not public.

1. Work Procedures

Work procedures describe, for internal use by prosecutors and collaborators of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the administrative and technical processes for handling and tracking cases. They are not public.

1. The implementation and monitoring of general instructions and work procedures are specified through information regularly disseminated during extended Management meetings.

2. Twice a year, the College organizes a mandatory course for all prosecutors. It includes clerks in one of these courses.

1. A regulation governs the solemn oath of prosecutors and collaborators of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

1. Internal mobility of prosecutors and collaborators is encouraged. It may be mandated.

1. There must be no direct line kinship or affinity, nor any collateral line kinship up to and including the third degree, nor any registered partnership or de facto cohabitation between a prosecutor and a collaborator of the same public prosecutor's office.

1. This regulation shall enter into force on October 1, 2024.

2. It repeals Directive No. 1.1 of the College of Prosecutors and the Attorney General "General Organization and Functioning of the Public Prosecutor's Office."