On significance of coordinative, preventive and administrative-jurisdictional activity of the prosecutor

The modern structure and content of the prosecutor's activity are a system of functions and directions of the prosecution service activities. Functions are the basic directions of performing the duties the prosecution service has. It is mostly a theoretical construct reflecting the large number of prosecutor's activities that expresses the essence of the prosecution service determined by the national and historical traditions and the current political priorities in public relations regulation. In our opinion, contemporary domestic prosecution service performs four functions: prosecutor supervision; criminal action; participation in case hearings; and public prosecution support. The first two functions are independent, the first is basic, the second - secondary. The other two - participation in case hearings and public prosecution support - must be considered as derivative functions of the domestic prosecutor's office determined by the prosecutor supervision or criminal action. The other directions of activity of the domestic prosecution service fixed in Article 1 of the RF Law ''On the Prosecution Service of the Russian Federation" can hardly be recognized as functions due to the following reasons. They do not reflect the essence of modern prosecution agencies, are insignificant in the scope of prosecutor's activities, and other public bodies can (or cannot) be assigned to perform some of these directions. Among the directions that are not functions are prosecution service activities of coordination, prevention and administration. Coordination of anti-crime actions of other law-enforcement agencies, prosecutor's participation in administrative-jurisdictional activity, preventive and law-making activities are not functions of the domestic prosecution service for they do not fully reflect the social purpose of prosecution agencies and are insignificant in the scope of prosecution service activities. These duties of the prosecution service are caused by the supervisory function it has. The indicated types of activity are either separate directions of activity that derive from the supervisory function (coordination, participation in administrative proceedings, prevention), or separate (specialized) forms of the supervisory activity of the prosecution service (law-making).

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