SCIENTIFIC CONCLUSION ON THE LEGALITY OF PRE-TRIAL INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED BY INVESTIGATIVE BODIES OF THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE AFTER NOVEMBER 20, 2017.
Review
This legal opinion examines the nature and limits of the investigative powers of prosecutorial detectives in Ukraine after 20 November 2017, based on the Constitution, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office,” and the Law “On the State Bureau of Investigation.” It finds that:
The prosecutor’s power to conduct pre-trial investigations, established by Art. 9 of the Transitional Provisions of the Constitution, was temporary and expired on 20 November 2017—ending the right of prosecutorial detectives to register or open new cases under the SBI’s jurisdiction.
The prosecutor’s power to conduct pre-trial investigations, established by Art. 9 of the Transitional Provisions of the Constitution, was temporary and expired on 20 November 2017—ending the right of prosecutorial detectives to register or open new cases under the SBI’s jurisdiction.
From that date, they could only continue investigations of cases they themselves had opened prior to 20 November 2017, and only within statutorily prescribed deadlines (until 20 November 2019, with a further three-month transfer period). No procedural mechanisms exist for “returning” cases from NABU or the SBI back to the prosecutor’s office.
From that date, they could only continue investigations of cases they themselves had opened prior to 20 November 2017, and only within statutorily prescribed deadlines (until 20 November 2019, with a further three-month transfer period). No procedural mechanisms exist for “returning” cases from NABU or the SBI back to the prosecutor’s office.
New criminal proceedings entered into the Unified Register after 20 November 2017 and falling into the exclusive jurisdiction of the SBI or NABU could not—and cannot—be investigated by prosecutorial detectives.
New criminal proceedings entered into the Unified Register after 20 November 2017 and falling into the exclusive jurisdiction of the SBI or NABU could not—and cannot—be investigated by prosecutorial detectives.