Certain Aspects of the Appointment and Replacement of the Prosecutor in Criminal Proceedings on Offences in the Sphere of Official Activity

The article is devoted to the study of procedural and legal aspects of the institute of appointment and replacement of a prosecutor (group of prosecutors) in criminal proceedings on crimes in the field of official activity. It is acknowledged that a correct understanding of the procedures and conditions under which a prosecutor may be appointed or replaced is key to ensuring an objective, transparent and efficient criminal proceedings. The author elaborates the criteria for the head of a prosecutor’s office to make decisions on the appointment (replacement) of a particular prosecutor in criminal proceedings of this category, which are divided into objective and subjective. The objective factors include the complexity of the criminal proceedings and the publicity of the criminal offence. As subjective factors, the author considers the total amount of work and individual workload, theoretical training, specialisation and practical experience of a prosecutor. Attention is focused on such a criterion for selecting prosecutors as specialisation, which allows for effective supervision over the observance of laws during pre-trial investigation in the form of procedural guidance, support of public prosecution, appealing against court decisions and exercising other powers provided for by law. The author examines the decisions of national courts of Ukraine which reflect the practical aspect of application of criminal procedure legislation in terms of appointment (replacement) of a prosecutor or a group of prosecutors in criminal proceedings on white-collar crimes. The selected cases were selected due to their significance and relevance to the research topic, and also to demonstrate the specific aspects which are taken into account when appointing (replacing) a prosecutor or a group of prosecutors to provide procedural guidance and support public prosecution in criminal proceedings on crimes of this category.