The Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP) was in thrown into turmoil last year when the DPP, Jeremy Rapke, came under fire for promoting to the position of associate Crown prosecutor a relatively junior prosecutor by the name of Diana Karamicov.

It was speculated that Rapke and Karamicov were having an "inappropriate" relationship, though this has been denied by both parties.

Yesterday, Victorian Attorney-General Robert Clark said the government had enlisted retired Supreme Court judge Frank Vincent QC to inquire into the operation of the offices of the DPP, the chief Crown prosecutor, the Crown prosecutors and associate Crown prosecutors, and the OPP.

LIV president Caroline Counsel has welcomed the move.

"It is very important that the public and the legal profession have confidence in the prosecution process and the office which oversees it," she said in a statement released today.

"The OPP is an independent statutory body and it is important that it continues to operate that way ... We hope this inquiry is able to restore public and professional confidence in this important office."

The inquiry, which will not be open to the public and will not require participants to give evidence under oath, is due to report to the Victorian government in March