The amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine regarding judiciary, adopted on June 2, limited functions of the public prosecution substantially. This is the next important step of prosecution reform. Disposal of unusual functions will enable prosecutors to focus on efficient performance of their core activity – public prosecution.

Thus, according to clause 9 of the Transitional Provisions of the Constitution, once an independent investigation agency (the State Bureau of Investigation – the SBI) is established, the prosecution shall be divested of its investigatory function, while the relevant investigation departments shall be liquidated.

The National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine shall become the main anticorruption agency in Ukraine, while the SBI – the main controlling agency over all the law enforcement officers, high-ranking officials, and judges. The SBI director will have greater influence than the Prosecutor General. Investigators of the Bureau shall investigate any crimes (except for grand corruption ones) – abuse of power, tortures, grave traffic accidents, etc – committed by any law enforcement officer, even a NABU detective.

However, establishment of the SBI is pending due to a lack of attention to this issue on the part of the Government and the professional community of lawyers. Thus, selection panel was not provided with the necessary resources for their informational and organizational activities that resulted in a small number of candidates who have submitted their applications to the offices of the SBI director and deputies. The deadline for submitting these applications is June 8. This puts the quality of competition in jeopardy, as well as creates risks of non-transparent appointment of the SBI leadership.

Therefore, the RPR experts call on:

1. The selection panel to extend the deadline for submitting applications to engage more candidates and ensure a high-quality selection.
2. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to allocate the resources necessary to hold the competition and take priority measures to establish the Bureau.
3. Professional associations and civil society organizations to support the awareness campaign on the competition set up to fill the offices of the SBI leaders and to encourage competent candidates to run for the offices of the SBI leaders.