Supreme Court rewrites family protection rules to name new prosecution office

The Supreme Court said Tuesday it revised its rules on family protection adjudication to redirect case referrals and notices from the prosecution service to the new Public Prosecution Office, following the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office Act and the enactment of the Public Prosecution Office Act on Oct. 2.

The revision, promulgated as Supreme Court Rule No. 3290, changes the recipient of referral decisions and related documents under Articles 7, 8, 10 and 45 of the Family Protection Adjudication Rules. The office is defined to include regional, district and district branch offices. It does not alter how family protection cases are handled.

Article 7 covers notices of referral decisions, Article 8 the dispatch of case records, decisions and evidence, Article 10 records and decisions in temporary-measure and family protection cases, and Article 45 notices cancelling temporary measures after a non-disposition decision. The rule was signed by Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae.

The revision took effect on the day it was promulgated but applies retroactively from Oct. 2, the date the new office opened.

The prosecution service, established in 1948, was abolished on Oct. 2, and its prosecutorial functions were moved to the Public Prosecution Office under the justice ministry. Investigative powers were separated and assigned to a new serious crimes investigation agency under the interior ministry. The government approved the promulgation of the Public Prosecution Office Act and the law organizing the serious crimes investigation agency at a Cabinet meeting.

The rule is a housekeeping change of institutional names, drafted by the court administration's judicial support review office.