The main feature of the inquisitorial system in criminal justice in France, and other countries functioning along the same lines, is the function of the examining or investigating judge ("juge d'instruction"), also called a magistrate judge. The examining judge conducts investigations into serious crimes or complex inquiries. As a member of the judiciary, he or she is independent and outside the province of the executive branch, and therefore separate from the Office of Public Prosecutions, which is supervised by the Minister of Justice.