Prosecutor General of Ukraine

The Prosecutor General of Ukraine (also Procurator General of Ukraine, Ukrainian: Генеральний прокурор України) heads the system of official prosecution in courts known as the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Генеральна прокуратура України). In 1991 the post was inherited from the socialist law state. The term of authority of the Prosecutor is six years.[4] She or he is appointed and dismissed by the president with parliamentary consent.[5] Parliament can force the Prosecutor General to resign after a vote of no-confidence.[5]

Prosecutor General of Ukraine (Генеральна прокуратура України)
Seal of Prosecutor General
Flag of Prosecutor General
Agency overview
Formed1917[1]
June 1922[1] (reorganization)
March 1936[1] (reorganization)
5 November 1991 (reorganization)
JurisdictionConstitution of Ukraine
Headquarters13/15, Riznytska st, Kiev [2]
Motto"Закон. Честь. Гідність." ("Law. Honour. Dignity.")
Employees15,000 (2017)
Agency executive
WebsiteOfficial website

The current Prosecutor General is since 17 March 2020 Iryna Venediktova.[3]

There are seven more additional deputies to the Prosecutor General. The Prosecution General Office is a state institution that is directly proscribed in the Constitution of Ukraine along with the Cabinet of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada, President of Ukraine.

Since its establishment in 1917/18 the Prosecutor General Office of Ukraine was subordinated to the Government of Ukraine, while the Prosecutor General holding the post of the Minister of Justice.[6] In 1922 it was reorganized under socialist law after the Soviet occupation of Ukraine.[6] With adaptation of the Stalin's Constitution of 1936/37, the office's subordination changed and, instead of subordinating to the government of Ukraine, it was subordinated to the Prosecutor General Office of the Soviet Union directly.[6] The status of the office was lowered and no longer holding any posts in the government of the union republic.[6] With dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Prosecutor General Office of Ukraine exists as an independent agency.[6]

Definition

The Office of the Prosecutor General is entrusted with:

  1. prosecution in court on behalf of the State;
  2. representation of the interests of a citizen or of the State in court in cases determined by law;
  3. supervision of the observance of laws by bodies that conduct detective and search activity, inquiry and pre-trial investigation;
  4. supervision of the observance of laws in the execution of judicial decisions in criminal cases, and also in the application of other measures of coercion related to the restraint of personal liberty of citizens.

The Prosecutor General is appointed to office by the President of Ukraine with the consent of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament).[7] The Prosecutor is dismissed from office by the President.[7] The Verkhovna Rada may express no confidence in the Prosecutor which will results, after a required number of votes is achieved,[5] in their resignation from office.[7]

Duties and powers

Both in theory and in practice, the Prosecutor General and their office wield considerable power.[8] (For instance, only the Prosecutor General and the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Ukraine may file requests to the Verkhovna Rada to withhold the immunity of deputies from detainment or arrest.) This is a legacy of the Soviet Union state prosecutor’s office founded in 1937 of which the current Prosecutor General office is the successor.[8] After Ukraine's independence in 1991 many of the Prosecutor General office functions were expanded.[8] In 2016 the powers of the Prosecutor General office were decreased and (starting in January 2017[4]) limited[8] to:

  • Organization and leadership of pre-trial investigations;[8]
  • Support of public prosecution in the courts;[8] and
  • Representation of the state’s interest in the courts, according to the law.[8]

On annual basis the Prosecutor General has to report to the Verkhovna Rada about the legal situation in the country.

The Prosecutor General creates a collegiate council consisting out of the Prosecutor General, their first and other deputies, the Prosecutor of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea[nb 1], and other leaders of prosecution agencies.

The independent agency General Inspectorate oversees "the legality of actions undertaken by prosecutors and investigators of the whole prosecution system".[12]

Structure

As of 21 December 2019[13]

Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Kiev
Headquarters in Kiev
  • Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea
  • Prosecutor's Office of Cherkasy Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Chernihiv Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Chernivtsi Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Donetsk Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Kharkiv Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Kherson Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Khmelnytskyi Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Kirovohrad Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Kyiv City
  • Prosecutor's Office of Kyiv Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Luhansk Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Lviv Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Mykolaiv Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Odesa Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Poltava Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Rivne Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Sumy Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Ternopil Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Vinnytsia Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Volyn Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Zakarpattia Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Zaporizhia Oblast
  • Prosecutor's Office of Zhytomyr Oblast
  • Military Prosecutor's Office of Joint Forces
  • Military Prosecutor's Office of Ukrainian Central Region
  • Military Prosecutor's Office of Ukrainian Southern Region
  • Military Prosecutor's Office of Ukrainian Western Region
  • National Academy of Prosecution of Ukraine

Separate organizations

Leadership
  • Prosecutor General – Iryna Venediktova (17 March 2020)
  • Deputy Prosecutor General – Viktor Trepak (8 October 2019)
  • Deputy Prosecutor General – Günduz Mamedov (18 October 2019)
  • Deputy Prosecutor General—Director of Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office – Nazar Kholodnytskyi (30 November 2015)

History

Early period
Serhiy Shelukhin[1] (minister of court affairs and minister of justice), the first Prosecutor General

The post of Prosecutor General appeared back in 1917. After Ukrainian declared its independence from the Russian Republic due to the Bolshevik's aggression, the post was held by the minister of justice.[1]

# Term[1] Name
x 1917 — 1918 Dmytro Markovych
1 Serhiy Shelukhin
x Mykhailo Chubynskyi
x Oleksiy Romanov
2 Andriy Viazlov
3 Viktor Reinbot

Soviet period

After the occupation of Ukraine by Bolsheviks in June of 1922 there was established the Prosecutor's Office of the Ukrainian SSR.[1][14] In the early years of the Ukrainian SSR, the office of Prosecutor General was merged with the Minister of Justice until spring 1936. From 1937 to 1991 the republican prosecution office of Ukraine was subordinated to the Prosecutor General of the USSR. Until 1937 the Prosecutor General of Ukraine was appointed by the higher bodies of state power of Ukraine.

# Term[1] Name Official title
1 1922 — 1927 Mykola Skrypnyk Procurator General
2 1927 — 1930 Vasyl Poraiko Procurator General
3 1930 — 1933 Vasiliy Polyakov Procurator General
4 1933 — 1935 Mikhail Mikhailik Procurator General
5 1935 — 1936 Arkadiy Kiselyov Procurator General
6 1936 Grigoriy Zhelyeznogorskiy Procurator General
7 1938 — 1944 Leonid Yachenin Procurator
8 1944 — 1953 Roman Rudenko Procurator
9 1953 — 1963 Denys Panasyuk Procurator
10 1963 — 1983 Fedir Hlukh Procurator
11 1983 — 1990 Petro Osypenko Procurator

List of Prosecutors General
Prosecutor General of Ukraine
Генеральний прокурор України
Incumbent
Iryna Venediktova[3]
since 17 March 2020[3]
AppointerPresident of Ukraine
with parliamentary consent
Term lengthSix years
Constituting instrumentConstitution Article 122
Inaugural holderDmytro Markevych (originally) / Viktor Shyshkin (acting)
FormationJan 18, 1918 (originally) / Nov 5, 1991 (post-declaration)
DeputyFirst Deputy
Websitewww.gp.gov.ua

This list 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.

Prior to January 2017 the term of authority of the Prosecutor was five years.[4] Since January 2017 this was increased to six years.[4]

# Prosecutor General of Ukraine Name
1 September 4, 1991 — October 21, 1993 Viktor Shyshkin
2 October 21, 1993 — October 19, 1995 Vladyslav Datsiuk
3 October 19, 1995 — July 22, 1997 Hryhoriy Vorsinov
act July 22, 1997 — April 24, 1998 Oleh Lytvak
act April 24, 1998 — July 17, 1998 Bohdan Ferents
4 July 17, 1998 — April 30, 2002 Mykhailo Potebenko
April 30, 2002 — July 6, 2002 unknown
5 July 6, 2002 — October 29, 2003 Sviatoslav Piskun
October 29, 2003 — November 18, 2003 unknown
6 November 18, 2003 — December 9, 2004 Hennadiy Vasylyev
7 December 10, 2004 — October 14, 2005 Sviatoslav Piskun
October 14, 2005 — November 4, 2005 unknown
8 November 4, 2005 — April 26, 2007 Oleksandr Medvedko
9 April 26, 2007 — May 24, 2007 Sviatoslav Piskun
act May 24, 2007 — June 1, 2007 Viktor Shemchuk
10 June 1, 2007 — November 3, 2010 Oleksandr Medvedko
11 November 4, 2010 — February 22, 2014 Viktor Pshonka
comm February 22, 2014 — February 24, 2014 Oleh Makhnitsky[15]
act February 24, 2014[16] — June 18, 2014[17] Oleh Makhnitsky(1)
12 June 19, 2014[18] — February 11, 2015 Vitaly Yarema
13 February 11, 2015[19] — March 29, 2016[20](2) Viktor Shokin
act March 29, 2016(3) — 12 May 2016 Yuriy Sevruk
14 May 12, 2016 — August 29, 2019[21] Yuriy Lutsenko
15 August 29, 2019 — March 5, 2020[21] Ruslan Riaboshapka
act March 6, 2020 – March 17, 2020 Viktor Chumak
16 March 17, 2020 – present Iryna Venediktova[3]

Legend:

  • act — acting
  • comm — Parliamentary commissioner

Notes:

  • ^(1) Makhnitskyi served as acting Prosecutor by being appointed by the acting President of Ukraine. Makhnitskyi is also the only head of the office in the post-Soviet Ukraine who served as a parliamentary commissioner.
  • ^(2) Shokin was set to be formally dismissed since February 16, 2016[5][22] after submitting a letter of resignation and taking a vacation.[23] On March 16 Shokin returned to his duties as if he never submitted any letters of resignation.[24] He was formally dismissed in a parliamentary vote on 29 March 2016.[25]
  • ^(3) Yuriy Sevruk served as acting Prosecutor being the First Deputy General Prosecutor until the official appointment of a new Prosecutor General.[24]

Ranks
Shoulder Insignia
Rank Jurist, 3rd class Jurist, 2nd class Jurist, 1st class Junior Councillor of Justice Councillor of Justice Senior Councillor of Justice State Councillor
of Justice, 3rd class		 State Councillor
of Justice, 2nd class		 State Councillor
of Justice, 1st class		 State Councillor
of Justice of Ukraine
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See also

Notes
  1. Since the 2014 Crimean crisis, the status of the Crimea and of the city of Sevastopol is under dispute between Russia and Ukraine; Ukraine and the majority of the international community considers the Crimea and Sevastopol an integral part of Ukraine, while Russia, on the other hand, considers the Crimea and Sevastopol an integral part of Russia, with Sevastopol functioning as a federal city within the Crimean Federal District.[9][10][11]

References
Ukraine
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  1. History of the Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine (Історія прокуратури України). Prosecutor's Office of Mykolaiv Region.
  2. "Official website of the authority. Contact Us". 2017.
  3. Ukrainian Investigative Director Who Clashed With Activists Approved As Prosecutor-General, Radio Free Europe (March 17, 2020)
  4. (in Ukrainian) The law on the High Council of Justice earned, Ukrayinska Pravda (5 January 2016)
  5. Chief prosecutor Shokin back to work – source, Interfax-Ukraine (16 March 2016)
  6. ГЕНЕРАЛЬНИЙ ПРОКУРОР УКРАЇНИ.
  7. Chief prosecutor Shokin on leave – PGO, Interfax-Ukraine (17 February 2016)
  8. Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine passed: Ukraine takes a major step towards a European System of Justice, Lexology (9 June 2016)
  9. Gutterman, Steve. "Putin signs Crimea treaty, will not seize other Ukraine regions". Reuters.com. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  10. Ukraine crisis timeline, BBC News
  11. UN General Assembly adopts resolution affirming Ukraine's territorial integrity Archived 2018-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, China Central Television (28 March 2014)
  12. U.S. prosecutor tasked with selecting officers to oversee prosecutors' actions, UNIAN (9 August 2016)
  13. СТРУКТУРА Офісу Генерального прокурора (затверджено наказом Генерального прокурора від 21.12.2019 №99-шц. Prosecutor General Office of Ukraine
  14. Fedir Hlukh. The Prosecutor's Office of the Ukrainian SSR (ПРОКУРАТУРА УРСР). Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia.
  15. On appointment of Makhnitsky O.I. the Commissioner to monitor the activities of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. RESOLUTION of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine № 760-VII. February 22, 2014
  16. On appointment of O.Makhnitsky as acting General Prosecutor of Ukraine. DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE № 91/2014. February 24, 2014
  17. Ukrainian president dismisses Makhnitsky as acting prosecutor general, Interfax-Ukraine (18 June 2014)
  18. MPs agree to Yarema's appointment as prosecutor general, Interfax-Ukraine (19 June 2014)
  19. Ukrainian parliament backs nomination of Shokin as prosecutor general, Interfax-Ukraine (10 February 2015)
  20. Rada agreed to dismiss Shokin. Ukrayinska Pravda. 29 March 2016
  21. The new Attorney General was a former NAPC member, Ukrayinska Pravda (29 August 2019)
  22. Profile committee recommends parliament back prosecutor general's resignation, Interfax-Ukraine (16 March 2016)
  23. The Prosecutor General Office: Shokin wrote a resignation letter, but at this time he is on vacations. Ukrayinska Pravda. 29 March 2016
  24. The office of Prosecutor General explained who will be an acting Prosecutor General. Ukrayinska Pravda. 29 March 2016
  25. Rada agrees to dismiss Ukrainian Prosecutor General Shokin, Interfax-Ukraine (29 March 2016)
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