Supreme Court rewrites criminal procedure rules as prosecution service is replaced

The Supreme Court said Friday it has revised the Criminal Procedure Rules to match the abolition of the prosecution service and the launch of a new prosecution office system.

The revision, issued as Supreme Court Rule No. 3277, replaces references to the prosecution service with the prosecution office, its regional and district branches and their sub-offices across the rules. Prosecutors are stripped of investigative roles in the amended text, with the police now named as the party in charge of investigations.

The change follows the amended Criminal Procedure Act, which was promulgated on Aug. 4 and took effect Friday, and which created the prosecution office system and reorganized investigative authority.

Under the amended rules, a police officer who needs to change the place where a suspect is delivered or detained after an arrest warrant is issued must apply to a prosecutor, who may then request the change from a judge. The same route applies when a police officer seeks to renew an arrest warrant because its period of validity needs to be extended.

The grounds for extending a detention period were also revised, from "substantial reason to continue the investigation" to reasons requiring supplementary investigation to decide whether to indict.

A new Article 119 requires complainants who are legally obligated to report a case to state that qualification in an application for a ruling and to attach supporting materials, and allows a court to order corrections when those materials are insufficient. It takes effect Feb. 5, 2027, along with a related revision to Article 121 that moves jurisdiction over such applications from the High Court to the District Court.

Recordings of suspect interrogations will also be added to the materials that may be inspected and copied, under a revision to Article 123 of the rules that takes effect Aug. 5, 2027. A separate change reflecting a shift in the Criminal Procedure Act's article numbering on the hearing of victims' opinions in monetary deposits took effect on the day of promulgation.

The procedural revisions apply to cases already under investigation or pending in court at the time the rules take effect, though acts carried out under the previous rules are unaffected. Investigations that prosecutors continue under transitional provisions of the prosecution office and criminal procedure laws will still follow the old rules, as will the duties and authority of special prosecutors and other specified positions.