The U.N. Vienna Declaration of 1993 declared that all human rights and fundamental freedoms are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and should be promoted and implemented in a fair and equitable manner. The prime responsibility for doing so falls upon States.Prosecutors are agents of States.

The editors Egbert Myjer (Judge of the European Court of Human Rights and Professor of Human Rights at Amsterdam Free University) Barry Hancock (General Counsel of the IAP) and Nicholas Cowdery (president of the IAP) have compiled and edited a major work of great significance and value in the field and should find a place on the shelf of every professional working as "agent of State".

The issues discussed in the book are:

public prosecutor: `human rights on duty`; international human rights law; international standards for the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession; human rights and the right to life; human rights and the investigation of offences; human rights during arrest and pre-trial detention; human rights and pre-trial procedures; human rights and trial procedures; human rights and sentencing; human rights and the treatment of prisoners; administration of criminal justice under states of emergency; human rights and juvenile justice; discrimination in the justice system and equality for women in the administration of justice.

The book is published in cooperation with the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP), which is a non-governmental and non-political organisation. It is the first and only world organisation of prosecutors.