Historical and legal prerequisites and main stages of constitutionalization of prosecutor's office of the Russian Federation

Historical and legal prerequisites of constitutionalization of prosecutor's office consist in understanding of a historical role and purpose of bodies of prosecutor's office at different stages of development of the Russian statehood. The prosecutor's office founded in 1722 by three Petrovsky decrees initially was focused first of all on the supervising activity covering various spheres of administrative management. Conceptual withdrawal from Petrovsky model of prosecutor's office was connected with Judicial reform of 1864 as a result of which the prosecutor's office becomes generally criminal prosecution authority and maintenance of charge of court. The abolished institute of the general public prosecutor's supervision was restored nearly 60 years later already during the Soviet period. In all constitutions of the Soviet period the prosecutor's office was inseparably linked with the judicial system. In the first allied Constitution of 1924 in a chapter 7 "About the Supreme Court of the USSR" it was mentioned the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of the USSR. In the Constitution of the USSR the head "Court and prosecutor's office" was separately issued 1936. Thus, for the first time in the history of the Soviet legislation there was a fixing of legal status of prosecutor's office at the constitutional level. In the Constitution of the USSR 1977 Chapter 21 "Prosecutor's office" was included into the section "Justice, Arbitration and Public Prosecutor's Supervision" and contained five articles (Article 164-168). The same way the status of prosecutor's office was issued in the Constitution of RSFSR 1978 (Chapter 22 contained four articles about prosecutor's office). The main function of prosecutor's office fixed at the constitutional level during the Soviet period - -- is the highest supervision of exact and uniform performance of laws. The Soviet stage of formation of prosecutor's office was completed during an era of political instability. After the collapse of the USSR the new stage which is characterized by formation of ideas of possible model of prosecutor's office during a transition period, including the developed discussions about prosecutor's office in the course of work on the draft of the new Russian Constitution, in particular at stages of the Constitutional meeting began. Further the principle of unity and centralization of a system of bodies of prosecutor's office was enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation accepted in December, 1993 in Article 129. As a result of legislative transformations the prosecutor's office was finally registered structurally and functionally in the independent state system of bodies which is not entering in one of branches of the power. The second stage of constitutionalization of prosecutor's office is connected with carrying out administrative reform in all spheres of public administration and also is characterized by significant changes in powers of prosecutors in the criminal sphere, including separation of the investigation from supervision. The third stage of constitutionalization of prosecutor's office includes fixing of institutional and functional aspects: statuses and powers of prosecutors, principles and priorities of public prosecutor's activities for ensuring the rights and freedoms of the person and citizen, protection of the Constitution and protection of other constitutional values.

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