The Public Prosecution Service and the separation of powers

Authors

  • Eduardo Reale Ferrari

Keywords:

Public Prosecution Service, Separation of powers, Functional autonomy, Essential functions of justice, Rule of law

Abstract

The text examines the position of the Public Prosecution Service within the traditional trichotomic division of powers, starting from its historical evolution in French and Portuguese law, from its origin in the fourteenth century, when the king's procurators performed para-judicial functions, to its progressive autonomization after the French Revolution, when the king's lawyers became the people's lawyers. It analyzes its relationship with the three powers in the Brazilian Constitutions, from the omission of the 1824 Charter to the functional and administrative autonomy ensured by the 1988 Constitution, which places it among the essential functions of justice. It concludes that the Public Prosecution Service does not constitute a fourth power, but an organ of mediation between civil society and the sovereign powers of the State.

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References

DIAS, Jorge de Figueiredo. Direito Processual Penal, Coimbra, 1974,

GOMES, Maurício Augusto, O Ministério Público na Constituição de 1988, in Revista dos Tribunais, 635 - setembro de 1988.

INACARATIO, Marco Antonio. O Ministério Público na Ordem Jurídico Constitucional, in Revista de Informação Legislativa, jan./mar 11979.

PIZZORUSSO, Alessandro. L'organizzazione della giustizia in Italia - La magistratura nel sistema politico e istituzionale, Turim, 1985.

RASSAT, Michele-Laure. Le Ministère Public entre son passé et son avenir, Paris, 1967, p. 7 e s.

ROCCA, Franco Morozzo. Publico Ministero, in Enciclopedia del Diritto, XXXVII, Giuffré Editore.

RODRIGUES, Cunha. As funções Instrutivas do Ministério Público, conferência proferida na Univ. Complutense de Madrid, 1992.

_____. A Constituição e os Tribunais, 1977.

_____. Constituição da República Portuguesa, 2.ª revisão, 1992, 4.ª ed., Estante Edit.

_____. Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil, Saraiva, 1989.

Published

1996-04-01

How to Cite

FERRARI, Eduardo Reale. The Public Prosecution Service and the separation of powers. Brazilian Journal of Criminal Science, São Paulo, v. 14, n. 14, p. 141–148, 1996. Disponível em: https://publicacoes.ibccrim.org.br/index.php/RBCCRIM/article/view/3486. Acesso em: 20 oct. 2026.

Issue

Section

National Doctrine
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