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2nd North American Regional Conference - 2012

Date: Wednesday 16 May 2012 - Friday 18 May 2012

Location: Quebec, Canada

  • Conference venue:    Quebec, Canada
  • Conference period:   16 - 18 May 2012
  • Conference theme:    Prosecutorial Independence
  • Conference fee:         150 CDN (full participation)
  • Conference website:  www.iapquebec2012.com (English)
  • Conference website:  www.aippfquebec2012.com (French)

The number of participants is limited to 125 participants. The website will be available for registration on "first come first served" basis before the end of December and the detailed programme will then be accessible. The conferenc is available to individual members and those working for organisational members of the IAP. Non IAP Members are welcome to participate subject to availaility, on the basis that they are expected to join the IAP upon attandance.

Conference Theme:

On the first day, the Conference will examine prosecutorial independence which is a current and higly topical theme and which will complement the fifth anniversary of the creation of the two co-hosting organizations, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales du Québec. There are different ways in which the independence of prosecuting agencies can be structured and expressed and the conference will attempt to explore how this is done in various North American and Caribbean jurisdictions. The intention is to cover areas such as the independence of a prosecution service from political power and the executive branch of government, the mutual independence of prosecution services vis-à-vis investigative agencies, independence within the context of the funding of prosecution services as well as the independence of individual prosecutors vis-à-vis the necessary accountabilities and hierarchical lines of authority that ensure public trust and confidence in criminal justice. The second day of the Conference will be devoted to a selection of criminal law topics that pertain to the everyday practice of line prosecutors to enable them to updated their knowledge and skills in a constantly evolving legal and law enforcement landscape.

Target Group:

The conference is primarily aimed at operational prosecutors and it is expected that there will be lively discussion in a format which will mix presentations with case studies and panel discussions.

More information will be posted on this website shortly.