Translated material
Chairman candidate
The name of the future head of the Investigative Committee at the Prosecutor's Office has been announced
Today, as expected, the Federation Council (SF) will consider the candidacy of the future head of the Investigative Committee (IC) under the prosecutor's office - a new, virtually independent investigative body created in connection with the recent adoption of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC)and the law "On the Prosecutor's Office" RF" . President Vladimir Putin proposed the current Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Bastrykin for this post, and senators already made it clear yesterday that there would be no problems with his confirmation to the post.Mr. Bastrykin, as the Vremya Novostey newspaper already reported , was initially considered the main contender for the post of chairman of the Investigative Committee - ever since the project for reform of the prosecutor's office became known. Observers explained this by the fact that he had known President Putin for a long time - at one time they studied together at the Faculty of Law of Leningrad University. He was appointed to the post of Deputy Prosecutor General last fall, and before that he held various positions in the system of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and was engaged in teaching.
The approval of Mr. Bastrykin, in fact, will mark the beginning of the formation of the Investigative Committee. According to amendments to the law “On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation,” it is the chairman of this department (and not the prosecutor general) who can approve its structure and staffing and resolve issues regarding the distribution of powers. The new body should become operational in early September, when amendments to the laws come into force. The Investigative Committee will investigate criminal cases that hitherto fell under the jurisdiction of the prosecutor's office, that is, the most serious and high-profile crimes - murder, terrorism, banditry, official and military crimes, etc.
The name of the future head of the Investigative Committee was announced by the Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Viktor Ozerov. “We received an official statement from the president on Thursday,” he said. - I think that there will be no problems with Bastrykin’s confirmation in the position. “Bastrykin’s candidacy is expected for us and is quite logical from the point of view of the functional responsibilities of the head of the committee, and fully meets the requirements for the head of this structure, both in terms of professional knowledge and in terms of career progression.”
Mr. Ozerov also noted that since changes to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office” regarding the creation of the Investigative Committee come into effect 90 days after publication, that is, only on September 6 of this year, “based on the results of the discussion of the issue of the head of the committee, the Federation Council will adopt a resolution, in which the consent of the chamber to the appointment of Alexander Bastrykin as head of the Investigative Committee will be formalized.” At the same time, the senator added that until the law comes into force, the deputy prosecutor general will act temporarily. As Mr. Ozerov explained, the chamber chose this position based on the fact that “it is necessary to begin the process of forming a committee in advance, selecting the necessary personnel and solving organizational issues, writing instructions and proposals.” “This process cannot be stalled until September 6, and therefore Bastrykin is appointed until this moment as the acting head of the Investigative Committee,” the senator noted.
As Vremya Novostei learned, after Mr. Bastrykin takes up his new duties, the head of the investigative department (ID) of the Investigative Committee and the Moscow Prosecutor's Office will be appointed. The most likely candidate and so far the only one, according to our source, is Moscow Deputy Prosecutor Vladimir Ponevezhsky. He took this post last fall, before which he headed the prosecutor's office of the Western District of the capital. Then the heads of the remaining investigative departments, departments and branches of prosecutors' offices throughout the country will be appointed.