On 24 June 2025, the newly appointed Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, cancelled the Regulation on the Procedure for Selecting Candidates for the Personnel Reserve and dissolved the Commission responsible for forming that reserve. He announced this decision on social media. In this article, we explain how appointments to senior positions in the prosecution service are made, why the now-dissolved personnel reserve was created, and what impact this may have on the prosecution service’s European integration efforts.
Appointments to administrative (managerial) positions in the prosecution service are made by the Prosecutor General or by the head of a regional or local prosecution office, depending on the level of the post. Currently, no competitive selection procedure is held for such appointments.
Only appointments to the posts of First Deputy and Deputy Prosecutor General, Head of a Regional Prosecutor’s Office (and their First Deputy and Deputies), and Head of a Local Prosecutor’s Office are subject to recommendation by the prosecutorial self-governance body — the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine (CPU) P. 4 of Article 49 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Public Prosecutor's Office”. . When considering whether to issue a recommendation for appointment to an administrative post, the CPU considers P. 5 of Article 39 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Public Prosecutor's Office”. the candidate’s professional and ethical qualities, as well as their managerial and organisational abilities and professional experience. However, this does not amount to an open competition — candidates are effectively chosen from within existing networks rather than through a public announcement of vacancies and an open invitation to all prosecutors to apply.
In the Screening Report (January 2025), the European Commission stated that “the selection of management-level prosecutors still needs to be improved, by introducing clear selection criteria based on integrity and professional competence and a transparent and meritocratic selection procedure, including a credible integrity and professionalism check and by strengthening the institutional capacities and powers of the involved entities.” (P. 52)
According to the Ukraine Facility Plan and the Rule of Law Reform Roadmap, legislation ensuring a transparent and merit-based selection of prosecutors for leadership positions must enter into force in the first quarter of 2026. This legislation will include clear assessment criteria, including professional competence and integrity/ethics; a transparent, competitive, and merit-based selection procedure, which incorporates professional competence and integrity checks; enhanced institutional capacity and authority of the Prosecutor’s General Office (PGO) and prosecutorial self-governance bodies, particularly the CPU, in the selection of candidates for leadership roles.
These reforms were developed by a working group established by the Prosecutor General on 25 June 2024, focusing on strengthening the institutional capacity of the Qualifications and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors (QDCP), improving the disciplinary procedure for prosecutors, and enhancing the work of prosecutorial self-governance bodies. It is known that at the end of May, the PGO also sent a letter to prosecution offices at all levels requesting proposals regarding the content of the draft law.
However, at the end of 2024, a pilot project was launched to conduct competitive selection for leadership positions in the prosecution service — the personnel reserve. On 22 October 2024, the Prosecutor General established the Commission for the Selection of Candidates for Inclusion in the Personnel Reserve to fill administrative positions in the prosecution bodies (the Selection Commission). The Commission consists of three prosecutors (one of whom is the Deputy Chair of the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine) and three representatives of partner organisations that provide international technical assistance (ITA) to the prosecution service.
The Selection Commission acts as an advisory body to the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine, which, based on the personnel reserve list, submits recommendations for appointments to the Prosecutor General. This approach aims to minimise nepotism, the appointment of unqualified individuals, integrity-related risks, and other factors that negatively affect the quality of leadership personnel within the prosecution service.
The procedure for selecting candidates to be included in the personnel reserve for administrative positions in the prosecution service is defined by Regulation on the Procedure for Selection of Candidates for Inclusion in the Personnel Reserve for Administrative Positions in the Prosecution Service of Ukraine: Order of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine No. 236 of 14.10.2024 and Methodology for Selection and Evaluation of Candidates for Inclusion in the Personnel Reserve for Administrative Positions in the Prosecution Service of Ukraine. Annexe to the Regulation on the Procedure for Selection of Candidates for Inclusion in the Personnel Reserve for Administrative Positions in the Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine, approved by Order of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine No. 236 of 14.10.2024. the Regulation and its accompanying Methodology. The competition involves: assessing the candidate’s vision for developing the prosecution bodies of the relevant level (in the form of a presentation), completing practical tasks, and participating in an interview The interview also assesses the candidate's integrity and moral and business qualities. with the Selection Commission. The personnel reserve was formed for a two-year term and was intended to give the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General the opportunity to appoint the best prosecutors who had expressed their interest in taking on leadership positions at the regional and local levels.
The idea behind the personnel reserve was that it would serve as a pilot project for introducing a mandatory competitive selection process for leadership positions in the prosecution service, as stipulated by a number of EU integration commitments. At the same time, the procedure for filling leadership positions applied only to future appointments, while prosecutors currently holding such positions would remain in office (they would be offered reappointment).
Moreover, the appointment of a prosecutor to an administrative position — such as the head of a regional or district prosecutor’s office — is made for a term of five years On the Public Prosecutor's Office: Law of Ukraine of 14.10.2014 No. 1697-VII, part 4, article 39. . During the most recent reform of the prosecution service, triggered by the adoption of On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Priority Measures for the Reform of the Public Prosecutor's Office: Law of Ukraine of 19.09.2019 No. 113-IX. Law No. 113-IX in 2019, the structure of the prosecution bodies was changed, and prosecutors underwent recertification. The current regional prosecutor’s offices began functioning on 11 September 2020, and the district ones on 15 March 2021. At that time, appointments to the relevant leadership positions took place. This means that the terms of office of the current heads of these prosecutors’ offices will expire in 2025 and 2026, respectively. The intent was that they would be replaced by current leaders who consented to reappointment or by individuals selected from the personnel reserve list.
On 15 November 2024, the Selection Commission announced the start of the selection process. At this stage, candidates expressed their interest in taking leadership positions and submitted presentations outlining their vision for the development of the prosecution service at the corresponding level. From 8 to 10 April 2025, the second stage — written practical assignments — took place, involving over 450 prosecutors. The third stage, which consisted of interviews with the Commission, was conducted throughout May and June. Around 400 candidates out of 460 admitted to the final stage were evaluated. The Commission was scheduled to complete its work by 3 July and form the final list (the reserve).
Thus, the talent pool was an effective step toward a gradual transition from the current model to the appointment of heads of prosecutors’ offices based on competitive procedures. At the same time, it was limited only to those positions for which appointments are made upon the recommendation of the CPU — therefore, the talent pool had a recommendatory nature for the CPU and was established strictly within the bounds of current legislation (without requiring amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Public Prosecutor’s Office”). There was always a risk that the Regulation, as a subordinate legal act, could be changed or revoked at any time by the Prosecutor General, which is exactly what happened in practice.
According to Yevhen Krapyvin, Head of the “Law and Order” Area at the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, the matter concerns prosecutors who wished to advance their careers through an open competitive selection process. Unfortunately, they were deprived of that opportunity because, by cancelling the Regulation, the Prosecutor General effectively returned the system to its previous state, where anyone can be appointed to key positions at the discretion of the Council of Prosecutors and the Prosecutor General. At the same time, the role of the Council is formal mainly since — despite all efforts to develop prosecutorial self-governance — it remains institutionally weak. As for other leadership positions, such as heads of departments within the PGO, appointments are made exclusively by the decision of the Prosecutor General.
Instead, resources were simply wasted. Moreover, to the best of my knowledge, no consultations with international development partners were held, even though the idea that the talent pool was a ‘pilot project’ had been agreed upon with them by the previous leadership of the PGO and was presented as progress on the EU integration track in Brussels. Now, we have lost all of that and are starting from scratch.
I do not believe it will be possible to quickly develop and adopt a draft law on competitive selection, even by the first quarter of 2026. Until then, people will be appointed to leadership positions without proper evaluation, which will harm the reputation of the prosecutor’s office.”
