WALLESS lawyers Kaie Proode and Maria Lutter analyse the independence of the EPPO in the journal Juridica

The issue of the independence of prosecutors from executive power is timeless, but in the case of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the independence from Member States and their national prosecution services is a new concept. 

In the latest issue of Juridica (2025/5), WALLESS lawyers Kaie Proode and Maria Lutter provide an overview of the factors that influence the external independence of EPPO delegated prosecutors.  

Three factors have been pointed out in legal literature as posing the greatest threat to the independence of the delegate prosecutors: the dual role of being simultaneously part of the EPPO and the national prosecution system, the connection with the executive power due to the model of the national prosecution system, and the process of nomination of the delegated prosecutor left to the discretion of the Member State. In Estonia, European Delegated Prosecutors are appointed for a term of office as state prosecutors, but their independence is enhanced by an additional condition that they may only be given domestic tasks by decision of the Prosecutor General which is not required by the EPPO Regulation.  

The model of the Estonian prosecutorial system and the consequent constitutional position of the prosecutor’s office in the legal order, as well as the open competitions used for the selection of candidates for the office of delegate prosecutor, also serve the purpose of guaranteeing the independence of delegated prosecutors. At the same time, the analysis shows that ensuring the independence of European Delegated Prosecutors has largely been left to the Member States, which is incompatible with the objective of the EPPO Regulation to ensure the functional and legally independent status of European Delegated Prosecutors. 

Read the summary (in English) of the article here (full article is in Estonian): http://bit.ly/4mdYxU5