Prosecutor General of Ukraine explained

Agency Name:Prosecutor General of Ukraine
Native Name:Ukrainian: Генеральна прокуратура України
Type:Agency
Seal:Prosecutor_General_of_Ukraine.svg
Formed:1917
June 1922
March 1936
5 November 1991
Jurisdiction:Constitution of Ukraine
Headquarters:13/15, Riznytska st, Kyiv[1]
Employees:15,000 (2017)
Chief1 Name:Andriy Kostin (since 27 July 2022)
Chief1 Position:Prosecutor General
Motto:Закон. Честь. Гідність. (Law. Honour. Dignity.)
Website:Official website

The prosecutor general of Ukraine (also procurator general of Ukraine, Ukrainian: Генеральний прокурор України|translit=Heneralnyi prokuror Ukrainy) heads the system of official prosecution in courts known as the Office of the Prosecutor General (Ukrainian: Офіс Генерального прокурора|translit=Ofis Heneralnoho prokurora). The prosecutor general is appointed and dismissed by the president with consent of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament). The prosecutor serves a term of office of six years[2] and may be forced to resign by a vote of no confidence in parliament.[3] The current prosecutor general, since 27 July 2022, is Andriy Kostin.[4]

The Prosecutor General's Office dates to 1917, established by the fledgling Ukrainian governments following the collapse of the Russian Empire, when the minister of justice held the office of prosecutor general.[5] In 1922, it was reorganized under socialist law after the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became a founding member of the Soviet Union.[5] With adoption of the 1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union, the office became directly subordinated to the Prosecutor General Office of the Soviet Union; this lowered the status of the office, with the prosecutor appointed by the Soviet Prosecutor General and having no government post in the Ukraine SSR.[5] Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Prosecutor General Office of Ukraine became an independent agency.[5] The office is directly proscribed in the 1996 Constitution of Ukraine.

Duties and powers

The prosecutor general is appointed to office by the president of Ukraine with the consent of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament).[6] The prosecutor is dismissed from office after serving a six-year term, or on order of the president,[6] or the prosecutor may be forced to resign following a vote of no confidence in the Verkhovna Rada.[3] [6]

The powers of the office (from January 2017[2]) are to:

The prosecutor general submits an annual report to the Verkhovna Rada about the legal situation in the country.

The prosecutor general creates a collegiate council consisting of the prosecutor general, their first and other deputies, the prosecutor of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and other leaders of prosecution agencies.

The prosecutor general office's General Inspectorate is an independent agency established to oversee the actions of the prosecutorial system.[7] Its goals are to modernize the Soviet-era bureaucracy, to enhance inter-agency efficiency and international cooperation, and to fight corruption.[8]

Structure

[9]

Separate organizations

Leadership

History

Early period

The post of Prosecutor General of Ukraine was first established in 1917, following the dissolution of the Russian Empire. When the Ukrainian People's Republic was formed – after Ukraine declared its independence from the Russian Republic due to the Bolshevik's aggression – the post was held by the minister of justice.

TermName
11917–1918Dmytro Markovych
2Serhiy Shelukhin
3Mykhailo Chubynskyi
4Oleksiy Romanov
5Andriy Viazlov
6Viktor Reinbot

Soviet period

After the occupation of Ukraine by Bolsheviks in June 1922, the Prosecutor's Office of the Ukrainian SSR was established.[10] The prosecutor general was appointed by the Ukrainian government and remained merged with the minister of justice until the 1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union came into force, at which point the republican prosecution office of Ukraine was subordinated to the prosecutor general of the USSR.

No.Term[11] NameOfficial title
11922–1927Mykola SkrypnykProcurator General
21927–1930Vasyl PoraikoProcurator General
31930–1933Vasiliy PolyakovProcurator General
41933–1935Mikhail MikhailikProcurator General
51935–1936Arkadiy KiselyovProcurator General
61936Grigoriy ZhelyeznogorskiyProcurator General
71938–1944Leonid YacheninProcurator
81944–1953Roman RudenkoProcurator
91953–1963Denys PanasyukProcurator
101963–1983Fedir HlukhProcurator
111983–1990Petro OsypenkoProcurator

Post-Soviet period

Post:Prosecutor General
Body:Ukraine
Генеральний прокурор України
Insignia:Прапор ОГП.jpg
Termlength:Six years
Constituting Instrument:Constitution Article 122
Incumbent:Andriy Kostin
Incumbentsince:27 July 2022
Appointer:President of Ukraine
Appointer Qualified:with parliamentary consent
Formation:18 Jan 1918 (originally) / 5 Nov 1991 (post-declaration)
Deputy:First Deputy
Inaugural:Dmytro Markevych (originally) / Viktor Shyshkin (acting)
Website:www.gp.gov.ua

Following Ukrainian independence in 1991, the prosecutor general wielded considerable power[12] as a legacy of the Soviet Union state prosecutor's office.[12] Many of the office's functions were expanded in 1991,[12] but in 2016 the powers of the office were decreased and limited.[12]

Prior to January 2017, the term of authority of the prosecutor was five years.[2] Since January 2017 this was increased to six years.[2] This list below shows prosecutors of independent Ukraine. In the absence of the prosecutor general, the office is headed by their first deputy as the acting prosecutor general.

No.Prosecutor General of UkraineName
14 Sep 1991 – 21 Oct 1993
221 Oct 1993 – 19 Oct 1995Vladyslav Datsiuk
319 Oct 1995 – 22 Jul 1997Hryhoriy Vorsinov
act22 Jul 1997 – 24 Apr 1998Oleh Lytvak
act24 Apr – 17 Jul 1998Bohdan Ferents
417 Jul 1998 – 30 May 2002Mykhailo Potebenko
30 May 30 – 6 Jul 2002unknown
56 Jul 2002 – 29 Oct 2003Sviatoslav Piskun
29 Oct – 8 Nov 2003unknown
68 Nov 2003 – 9 Dec 2004Hennadiy Vasylyev
710 Dec 2004 – 14 Oct 2005Sviatoslav Piskun
14 Oct – 4 Nov 2005unknown
84 Nov 2005 – 26 Apr 2007Oleksandr Medvedko
926 Apr – 24 May 2007Sviatoslav Piskun
act24 May – 1 Jun 2007Viktor Shemchuk
101 Jun 2007 – 3 Nov 2010Oleksandr Medvedko
114 Nov 2010 – 22 Feb 2014Viktor Pshonka
comm22–24 Feb 2014Oleh Makhnitsky[13]
act24 Feb[14] – 18 Jun 2014[15] Oleh Makhnitsky
1219 Jun 2014[16] – 11 Feb 2015Vitaly Yarema
1311 Feb 2015[17] – 29 Mar 2016[18] Viktor Shokin
act29 Mar – 12 May 2016Yuriy Sevruk
1412 May 2016 – 29 Aug 2019[19] Yuriy Lutsenko
1529 Aug 2019 – 5 Mar 2020Ruslan Riaboshapka
act6–17 Mar 2020Viktor Chumak
1617 Mar 2020 – 17 Jul 2022Iryna Venediktova[20]
act17–27 Jul 2022Oleksiy Symonenko[21]
17Since 27 Jul 2022Andriy Kostin

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Official website of the authority. Contact Us.. 2017. 2017-03-10. 2020-12-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20201205223501/https://en.gp.gov.ua/ua/contacts_en.html. dead.
  2. Web site: uk . Закон про Вищу раду правосуддя запрацював . The law on the High Council of Justice has come into force . . 5 January 2016.
  3. http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/331035.html Chief prosecutor Shokin back to work – source
  4. News: Sukhov . Oleg . Andriy Kostin appointed prosecutor general. Here's what we know about him . 27 July 2022 . . https://archive.today/20220727110628/https://kyivindependent.com/politics/parliament-appoints-mp-andriy-kostin-as-prosecutor-general . 27 July 2022 . live .
  5. Web site: ГЕНЕРАЛЬНИЙ ПРОКУРОР УКРАЇНИ . uk . Prosecutor General of Ukraine . 8 January 2023.
  6. ZNews: Chief prosecutor Shokin on leave – PGO . . 17 February 2016.
  7. News: U.S. prosecutor tasked with selecting officers to oversee prosecutors' actions . . 9 August 2016.
  8. News: U.S. prosecutor tasked with selecting officers to oversee prosecutors' actions . . 9 August 2016.
  9. https://web.archive.org/web/20200328164020/https://old.gp.gov.ua/ua/structure_pu.html СТРУКТУРА Офісу Генерального прокурора (затверджено наказом Генерального прокурора від 21.12.2019 №99-шц
  10. Encyclopedia: Fedir . Hlukh . Fedir Hlukh . ПРОКУРАТУРА УРСР . The Prosecutor's Office of the Ukrainian SSR . uk . Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia.
  11. Web site: Історія прокуратури України . https://web.archive.org/web/20200327195010/https://myk.gp.gov.ua/ua/dovmat.html?_m=publications&_t=rec&id=126087 . 27 March 2020 . History of the Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine . uk . Prosecutor's Office of Mykolaiv Region.
  12. Web site: Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine passed: Ukraine takes a major step towards a European System of Justice ]. . 9 June 2016.
  13. http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/760-18 On appointment of Makhnitsky O.I. the Commissioner to monitor the activities of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine
  14. http://www.president.gov.ua/documents/16476.html On appointment of O.Makhnitsky as acting General Prosecutor of Ukraine
  15. http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/209973.html Ukrainian president dismisses Makhnitsky as acting prosecutor general
  16. http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/210045.html MPs agree to Yarema's appointment as prosecutor general
  17. http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/249709.html Ukrainian parliament backs nomination of Shokin as prosecutor general
  18. http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/03/29/7103655/ Rada agreed to dismiss Shokin
  19. https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2019/08/29/7224824/ The new Attorney General was a former NAPC member
  20. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian-lawmakers-approve-country-s-first-female-prosecutor-general/30492596.html Ukrainian Investigative Director Who Clashed With Activists Approved As Prosecutor-General
  21. Web site: uk . Указ Президента України No 501/2022 – Про покладення виконання обов'язків Генерального прокурора' . Presidential decree No. 501/2022 – On taking over the duties of the Prosecutor General . . 2022-07-17 . 2022-07-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220720222528/https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/5012022-43329 . 2022-07-20 . live .