INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PROSECUTORS 

(http://www.iap-association.org )

The International Association of Prosecutors (hereinafter - IAP) is currently the only non-governmental and non-political global association of prosecutors with special consultative status with the UN, comprising about 130 organizational members and uniting individual participants from more than 140 countries worldwide.

The IAP was established in June 1995 at the United Nations in Vienna. The Association officially began its activities in September 1996 during its first General Assembly in Budapest. The main impetus for its creation was the rapid increase in the level of transnational crime, particularly in the areas of drug trafficking, money laundering, and fraud. There arose a need to ensure broader international cooperation among prosecutors and to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in providing mutual legal assistance, tracing assets acquired through illegal means, and implementing other measures of international cooperation.

Main Goals and Objectives of the IAP

·      to promote effective, fair, impartial, and efficient investigation of criminal cases;

·      to uphold and protect human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948;

·      to promote the achievement of high standards and principles of justice in criminal matters, including procedures aimed at both preventing and addressing judicial errors to ensure the rule of law;

·      to promote the development of principles and standards recognized by the international community as necessary for conducting proper and independent investigations of criminal cases;

·      to provide international assistance to prosecutors in combating organized crime for the purpose of:

- supporting international cooperation in the collection and provision of evidence; identifying, seizing, and confiscating proceeds of crime, and prosecuting criminals who are evading justice;

- facilitating prompt and effective international cooperation on these issues;

·      to promote the implementation of measures to eliminate corruption in public administration;

·      to advance the professional interests of prosecutors and recognize their key role in achieving justice in criminal matters;

·      to foster good relations between individual prosecutors and prosecutorial bodies, facilitate the exchange and dissemination of information, expertise, and experience among them, and, for this purpose, encourage the use of information technology;

·      to promote the study of comparative criminal law and procedure and assist prosecutors engaged in justice system reform projects;

·      to cooperate with international legal organizations to further the above-mentioned goals.

Officials

The governing and administrative body of the Association is the Executive Committee, which consists of no fewer than ten and no more than thirty appointed members representing the regions of the world where the Association has its representatives. Currently, the Committee consists of thirty members representing twenty-six countries.

Decisions on organizational and other important matters of the Association's activities are made by the Executive Committee during the General Assembly. The Association elects a President, six Vice-Presidents, and a Secretary-General, who is the executive director of the Association and manages its day-to-day operations.

The Executive Committee also appoints a General Counsel, who has representative functions and is responsible for the programmatic work of the Association.

In addition to the Executive Committee, the Association has a Conflict Resolution Committee, which is the highest body for resolving legal disputes, and other committees endowed with special functions related to the goals and activities of the Association.

Membership

In 2005, the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine acquired organizational membership in this organization by decision of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Prosecutors.

Documents

1.    Standards for the Safety and Protection of Prosecutors and Their Families (2008)

2.    Standards of Professional Responsibility and the Basic Rights and Duties of Prosecutors (1999)