About The District Prosecutor
The District Prosecutor is one of the branches of the prosecution in Iceland. It exercises prosecuting functions and pleads on behalf of the state in criminal cases before the courts, in addition to handling the investigation of criminal cases as prescribed by law. The authority also operates a Financial Intelligence Unit and handles procedure in cases involving the recovery and confiscation of illicit gains from criminal activities. It also has various other administrative functions. See under Functions for further details.
The District Prosecutor handles the functions of the prosecution in all parts of the country unless they come under other branches of the prosecution according to special provisions in law, e.g. the Director of Public Prosecutions (which is the supreme prosecuting authority) or the district commissioners of police. The District Prosecutor prosecutes cases involving violations of the General Penal Code and/or separate criminal statutes, and also handles the investigation of serious financial or economic crime and violations of other special statutes applying to various types of business operations, for example those of the financial services and markets.
Duties of the District Prosecutor include the investigation and prosecution of cases involving offences against the authorities and offences committed by police officers (other than employees of the DP itself) in the course of their work. The authority also carries out administrative and other tasks entrusted to it by the Ministry of the Interior and the Director of Public Prosecutions. Liaison with other law-enforcement agencies, supervisory bodies and other institutions, as appropriate, both domestic and international, is part of the authority's work. See under Functions for further details.
The District Prosecutor strives to work in accordance with the aim of guaranteeing citizens' security under the law, ensuring speedy yet thorough processing of cases and quality in their resolution. This involves relying on well-qualified staff with sound professional skills and practical experience of work for the prosecution and the police. The authority has a staff of about 50, consisting of lawyers, police officers, people with qualifications in business studies and economics, other experts and secretarial staff.
The District Prosecutor is Ólafur Þór Hauksson and the Deputy District Prosecutor is Kolbrún Benediktsdóttir.