Prosecutor General of Ukraine

The prosecutor general of Ukraine (also procurator general of Ukraine, ) heads the system of official prosecution in courts known as the Office of the Prosecutor General. The prosecutor general is appointed and dismissed by the president with consent of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament). The prosecutor serves a term of office of six years and may be forced to resign by a vote of no confidence in parliament. The current prosecutor general, since 27 July 2022, is Andriy Kostin. The Prosecutor General's Office dates to 1917, established by the fledgling Ukrainian governments following the collapse of the Russian Empire, when the minister of justice held the office of prosecutor general. In 1922, it was reorganized under socialist law after the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became a founding member of the Soviet Union. With adoption of the 1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union, the office became directly subordinated to the Prosecutor General Office of the Soviet Union; this lowered the status of the office, with the prosecutor appointed by the Soviet Prosecutor General and having no government post in the Ukraine SSR. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Prosecutor General Office of Ukraine became an independent agency. The office is directly proscribed in the 1996 Constitution of Ukraine. Duties and powers The prosecutor general is appointed to office by the president of Ukraine with the consent of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament). The prosecutor is dismissed from office after serving a six-year term, or on order of the president, or the prosecutor may be forced to resign following a vote of no confidence in the Verkhovna Rada. The powers of the office (from January 2017) are to: provide organization and leadership of pre-trial investigations; support public prosecution in the courts; and represent the state's interest in the courts, according to the law.