Meeting to discuss establishment of military prosecutor's office system

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has convened a meeting to discuss the establishment of military prosecutor's office system.

"The topic of today's event is the military prosecutor's office. I will not describe the situation in the world: you know it very well. Let me just remind you that in 2014 we made a decision to liquidate the system of military prosecutor's offices," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The civilian prosecutor's authorities have been vested with the authority to supervise the legislation in the Armed Forces, other troops and military formations of Belarus. The conditions were different then. The decision was aimed, among other things, at reducing the number of staff as part of the reform of the state apparatus and curring down budget expenditures, the head of state noted.

"At a large meeting in 2024 we decided to reduce the number of military prosecutors. I won't go deep into the reasons, the motivation. A natural question arises: has the situation changed now? I guess it has. Then the next question goes: has it changed so much that we need to return to military prosecutor's office system?” the President asked. "The main question today is whether or not we need to recreate the system of prosecutorial supervision that we had before 2014."

The Prosecutor General proposes to establish the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office and inter-garrison military prosecutor's offices. "We need to make a decision on this issue," the Belarusian leader stressed.

Aleksandr Lukashenko inquired about the practices in other countries. He also noted that there are the alternative opinions regarding a system of military prosecutor's offices. They believe that such structures are necessary, but only in wartime conditions.

"Another question: God forbid, a war has begun. We are quickly setting up prosecutor's offices. We won’t do without it? If the answer is yes, then maybe we should proceed with it. If we can do without them, then why we need them? And the main thing: why prosecutors raised this issue today? So do we need to recreate the system of prosecutorial supervision we had before 2014," the President said. “I invited you here to discuss these issues, to make a decision. I am waiting for specific proposals based solely on the national tasks of ensuring national security."

As Prosecutor General Andrei Shved noted, the prosecutor's office bodies are working to improve the efficiency of supervisory activities in all areas. A number of departmental initiatives have been implemented and are yielding results today.

"In connection with the current military and political situation near our borders, we have analyzed how supervision over the rule of law in troops is organized in other countries, including during military conflicts. Military prosecutors are an indispensable element of the national security system around the world. Their services are needed and used in all military conflicts," Andrei Shved reported.