The prosecution of criminal cases in court is one of the main functions of the prosecutor's office

The participation of the state prosecutor in court as a party to the prosecution is a guarantee of the implementation of the norms of the criminal procedure law regarding the observance of the conditions and procedure for considering criminal cases in court on the basis of legality and adversarial proceedings.

The state prosecutor is not only a party to the prosecution but also an official whose activities are aimed at protecting the legitimate interests of society and the state, and safeguarding the rights and freedoms of all participants in the criminal process.

In order to improve the quality of maintaining state prosecution and increase the effectiveness of prosecutorial supervision over the legality of court decisions in criminal cases, the Vitebsk regional prosecutor's office held a series of training and practical seminars in December 2018 (based at the prosecutor's offices of Gluboksky, Polotsky, Orshansky districts and the regional prosecutor's office), to which all prosecutors from the prosecutor's offices were invited.

The program of the training and methodological seminars, developed by the department for supervision over the legality of court decisions in criminal cases of the regional prosecutor's office, consisted of lectures and practical sessions. Its participants discussed existing problems in maintaining state prosecution, the quality of preparing acts of prosecutorial response, the appellate and supervisory practice of the Vitebsk Regional Court, as well as issues of applying criminal law and procedure in specific categories of criminal cases.

In addition to theoretical material, the seminar included listening to and discussing speeches by state prosecutors in court debates, listening to reports by employees on specific issues of criminal procedure legislation, and solving practical problems. Blitz quizzes on knowledge of criminal and criminal procedure legislation were also held among prosecutors at the seminars, and their winners were awarded diplomas and souvenirs.

Seminar participants were given the opportunity to ask questions, share their work experience, and discuss existing problems.

Taking into account the constantly updating composition of state prosecutors and the lack of experience for many of them

public speaking in court, the practice of such seminars will be continued.

Deputy Head of the Department for Supervision of Compliance with the Law in Criminal Cases Vitaly Suzansky