Military prosecution service reinstated in Ukraine

Interfax-Ukraine for August 22, 2014 reports:

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a bill to reinstate the military prosecution service.

The Ukrainian presidential press service said on Friday the bill laid down the procedure for forming, staffing and equipping military prosecutor's offices and rendering social protection to their staff members who enjoy the status of a serviceman.

The bill attributes to the military prosecution service the Main Military Prosecutor's Office (as a structural unit of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office), military prosecutor's offices in regions (enjoying regional jurisdiction), military prosecutor's offices in garrisons and others with a status similar to that of prosecutor's offices in cities and districts. The Main Military Prosecutor's Office is chaired by Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor General - Main Military Prosecutor.

"In the case of exclusive circumstances in which Ukrainian prosecutor's offices are not exercising control of certain administrative territorial units, the Ukrainian prosecutor general may entrust military prosecutor's offices with this power. The procedure for forming, reorganizing and liquidating military prosecutor's offices and the determination of their status, competences, structures and staff shall be conducted by the Ukrainian prosecutor general," the report says.

Active or reserve officers with higher legal education shall be appointed as military prosecutors and detectives.

The presidential press service noted that the regulations on military prosecutor's offices were excluded from the Law on Prosecution Service on April 3, 2012, with the approval of the Law on the Adjustment of Some Legislative Acts of Ukraine in Connection with the Adoption of the Ukrainian Criminal Practice Code.