Chentsov rejects idea of competitive selection for prosecutor general

Rejection of the selection mechanism

Deputy Prime Minister Vsevolod Chentsov publicly expressed disagreement with the proposal to introduce a competitive procedure for selecting the prosecutor general. This initiative was previously supported by a group of people's deputies.

In an interview with the publication “European Pravda”, the official detailed his position. In his view, such a change is not a requirement from the European Union, has no precedents in European practice, and also takes into account the constitutional role of the President and the Verkhovna Rada in appointing the prosecutor general.

«Я бачу, що експерти висловлюються про необхідність конкурсу на генпрокурора. Але у вимогах ЄС цього не написано. Європейської практики такої теж немає. [...] Але проводити конкурс на посаду я особисто не бачу ні необхідності, ні можливості» (I see that experts are speaking about the need for a competition for the prosecutor general. But this is not written in the EU requirements. There is no such European practice either. [...] But personally, I see neither the necessity nor the possibility of holding a competition for the post), Chentsov emphasised.

Context of European requirements

It is worth noting that the “Foundations” cluster of negotiations with the EU does indeed contain requirements regarding the independence and transparency of the prosecution's work. However, Brussels does not dictate a specific format of “casting” with a veto right for international observers, which is being lobbied by people's deputies Radina and Zheleznyak.

Against the backdrop of these discussions, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos continues to insist on the reform of the prosecution and the State Bureau of Investigation.