BY
On 30th November, the untrusted (unless you are
President Poroshenko), Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin finally appointed the
long awaited Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, the appointment coming the day before
President Poroshenko stated the office must finally begin work. (Thus Mr
Shokin could delay matters no longer.
The successful applicant, following a long, public
and reasonably transparent process is Nazar Holodnitskogo.
Mr Holodonitskogo has a lot to do – but then he
has a lot to go at. He and his team are certainly not lacking work.
This appointment will naturally get all the
headlines – and perhaps rightly so. It will certainly bring about
headlines in the weeks and months ahead.
However, perhaps just as importantly, Mr Shokin
also gave approval to some much needed structural changes within the PGO too.
The General Inspectorate of Internal
Investigations (the office now responsible for prosecuting prosecutors and
investigators) has been born, with an action plan, and the appointment of
Maxim Melnichenko was also made. Mr Melnichenko will report to the very
good Deputy Prosecutor General David Sakvarelidze (which he actually does
already in a different role).
All in all, two very promising occurrences
within an otherwise discouraging Prosecutor General’s Office.
Yet one question remains regarding these events.
Mr Shokin’s appointment of Mr Holodonitskogo was from a choice of the two
final candidates from a lengthy process to insure individual moral courage and
fortitude both past and present. The other finalist was Maxim Grischuk
(who would have been your author’s choice).
It simply cannot be that Mr Grischuk does not
take a senior position within the PGO having passed the public “corruption
smell test” with flying colours, and the professional qualifications/ability
test of a large panel of experts. An honest prosecutor simply cannot be
wasted.
What now for a good man called Maxim Grischuk?
It is perhaps only right to acknowledge the
tremendous external (international) political and diplomatic energy expended
that has forced these changes upon President Poroshenko, and thus within the
Prosecutor General’s Office. That energy will need to be maintained of
course – not only in insuring these new appointments and their departments can
work freely of political (and Mr Shokin’s nefarious) interference, but also in
seeing through the complete reconstruction of the institution and the changing
of the guard within.
Nevertheless, rapid sweeping reforms and some
headlining prosecutions in 2016 are required – and perhaps they will come too!
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