The Public Prosecution Service ( nl, Openbaar Ministerie, OM; ) is the body of public

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

s in the

Dutch criminal justice system The criminal justice system of the Netherlands is the system of practices and institutions of the Netherlands directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, and sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties an ...

. The literal translation of ''Openbaar Ministerie'', "Public Ministry", can lead to a misunderstanding, as the OM is not a

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

like the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

. The Public Prosecution Service decides who has to appear in front of the

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and for which offence or

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

. It is the body that can decide to prosecute someone. The main domain of the OM is

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

rather than civil law. The OM has ten regional offices, directed nationally by the ''College van Procureurs-Generaal'' () in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. The OM is ultimately responsible to the Minister of Justice and Safety (''Minister van Justitie en Veiligheid''), who together with the college determines the priorities and organisation of the Service.

References

Law enforcement agencies of the Netherlands {{Netherlands-stub