Andrey Yankulov: Parliament should urgently elect an inspectorate and make preparations for electing a new judicial council

Andrey Yankulov, ACF: It would be good to come to the realization that we are an exotic exception among the other European legal systems due to our lack of external controls over the Prosecutor’s Office. Most countries have mechanisms to resort to when the Prosecutor’s Office refuses to investigate a particular case, such as alternative pressing of charges by a different legal party or judicial review of the respective prosecutor’s failure to prosecute. Currently, a working group at the Ministry of Justice is discussing legislative amendments that would strengthen the judicial control over any decision of the Prosecutor’s Office not to initiate an investigation. The amendments would also enable victims to request courts to review the timeliness and quality of any investigations that have not resulted in an indictment. Since the Prosecutor’s Office alone has the immense power to press or not to press charges, in practice the decisions of any particular prosecutor are coordinated with higher-ranking officials in the institution. This is not even a secret in the institution; anyone who has had dealings with the criminal justice system knows this, and it is not disputable, no matter what the Prosecutor General says. All the claims that he has no influence on the decisions on cases of public importance, such as those involving ministers, MPs, and other prominent figures, are simply untrue.