1 General Criminal Law Enforcement
1.1 What authorities can prosecute business crimes,
and are there different enforcement authorities at the national and
regional levels?
Under Irish law, offences are divided between summary (minor)
offences and indictable (serious) offences. In general, regulatory
bodies are authorised to prosecute summary offences along with the
Garda Siochána (the Irish police) and the Director of Public
Prosecutions (the "DPP"). However, the DPP has the sole
authority to prosecute offences on indictment (except for a limited
category of offences still prosecuted at the suit of the Attorney
General). In addition, there are a number of authorities that
prosecute business crimes in Ireland on a summary basis. These
include: the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (the
"ODCE"); the Criminal Assets Bureau ("CAB");
the Office of the Revenue Commissioners (the "Revenue
Commissioners"); the Competition and Consumer Protection
Commission
