“A pre-trial investigation shall be organised and directed, and charges on behalf of the State in criminal cases shall be upheld, by prosecutors. In cases established by law, prosecutors shall defend the rights and legitimate interests of the person, society, and the State. When performing their functions, prosecutors shall be independent and shall obey only the law. The Prosecution Service of the Republic of Lithuania shall be the Office of the Prosecutor General and territorial prosecutor’s offices. The Prosecutor General shall be appointed and released by the President of the Republic upon the assent of the Seimas. The procedure for the appointment and release of prosecutors, as well as their status, shall be established by law.”
Prosecutors organise and direct pre-trial investigations and uphold charges on behalf of the State in criminal cases; in cases set by law they defend the rights of the person, society and the State. Prosecutors are independent and obey only the law. The Prosecution Service consists of the Office of the Prosecutor General and territorial prosecutor's offices; the Prosecutor General is appointed and released by the President with the assent of the Seimas.
When the police open an investigation into a theft, it is directed by a prosecutor, who later upholds the charges in court on behalf of the State. The President nominates a new Prosecutor General and the Seimas votes on whether to assent.
Memorise the three functions of prosecutors and that the Prosecutor General is appointed by the President with the assent of the Seimas (the same procedure as for Court of Appeal judges). This article closes Chapter IX, Courts; its current wording dates from the 2003 amendment.
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