This session examined threats to prosecutorial independence, including in South Africa and Latin America, and explored practical ways to respond.

Anti-corruption prosecutors may be exposed to physical and reputational attacks as well as political interference. Structural weaknesses, such as limited control over budgets and operations, undermine independence even where legal protections exist. Disciplinary systems and litigation may be weaponised to punish legitimate decisions, while sustained pressure and public scrutiny affect prosecutors’ mental wellbeing.

The discussion warned of risks linked to artificial intelligence, with proprietary software generating evidence and prosecutorial discretion quietly outsourced to algorithms.

It reaffirmed the International Association of Prosecutors’ Standards that prosecutors must act without fear, favour or prejudice, and emphasised how the IAP Standing Committee on Prosecutors in Difficulty supports those under threat.

A whole-of-society approach is needed, with responses including strengthening operational autonomy, responding quickly to disinformation, and setting firm guardrails for the use of AI.

This special event takes place in hybrid format at the 11th Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption in Doha, Qatar. It is co-organised by Norway, the Basel Institute on Governance and the International Association of Prosecutors.

Opening remarks

Hanna Olsen Bodsberg, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Justice, Norway

Speakers

• Elizabeth Andersen, Executive Director, Basel Institute on Governance (moderator)
• Shenaz Muzaffer, General Counsel, International Association of Prosecutors
• Anton Du Plessis, Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions, South Africa
• Oscar Solórzano, Head of Latin America, International Centre for Asset Recovery, Basel Institute on Governance

Background reading and watching

• IAP Standards for Prosecutors, the international benchmark for the conduct of individual prosecutors and of prosecution services.
• IAP Standing Committee on Prosecutors in Difficulty, which regulates the ways in which the IAP processes requests for assistance from prosecutors, prosecution agencies or associations of prosecutors claiming to be in difficulty.
• Summary of previous CoSP special event on safeguarding prosecutors and YouTube recording: Anti-corruption prosecutors under attack