ЗБЛИЖЕННЯ ГАРАНТІЙ НЕЗАЛЕЖНОСТІ ПРОКУРОРІВ ТА СУДДІВ В УКРАЇНІ: У ПОШУКАХ ПЕРЕДУМОВ І ТЕНДЕНЦІЙ

Abstract

Some aspects of the convergence of guarantees of independence of prosecutors and judges in Ukraine, due to constitutional changes in the judiciary, are highlighted in the paper. The purpose of the article is to sort out the prerequisites and identify trends in the convergence of guarantees of independence of prosecutors to judges at the current stage of reforming the justice system. It is established that the current scientific discourse on the issue of institutional determination of the place of the Prosecutor's Office in the mechanism of state power is mainly to determine the benefits of the autonomous status of the Prosecutor's Office, in which it doesn't belong to any branch of government, and holds the status of an autonomous body within the judiciary. It is argued that the institutional recognition of the Prosecutor's Office as an autonomous and independent body of the judiciary is more promising for the purpose of bringing the legal status of the prosecutor closer to the legal status of the judge, considering the interdependence of their powers and the need to ensure proper justice. It is stated that international standards define the independence of the Prosecutor's Office as an unconditional consequence of the independence from the judiciary and declare the prosecutors to have guarantees similar to those of judges, given by the proximity of the missions of judges and prosecutors, particularly, regarding the appointment, transfer, promotion and the application of disciplinary sanctions. As a result, it is proposed that the formation of bodies that determine the level of professional training of persons who intend to take the position of a prosecutor or judge, as well as resolve issues of disciplinary liability of prosecutors and judges together with their transfer and dismissal to be as close as possible. The peculiarities of legislative regulation of the formation of judicial and prosecutor's governance at the current stage of reforming the justice system in Ukraine are analyzed. It was found that the tendencies towards convergence of these processes in relation to prosecutors to the level of judges are weakening. It is proposed to create a single judicial and prosecutor's governance to address career and discipline issues, which will harmonize and simplify the structure of judicial governance in Ukraine, as well as unify these procedures for prosecutors and judges as key public officials of the justice system.