Prosecutor General of the USSR

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Prosecutor General of the USSR (Генеральный прокурор СССР in Russian, or Generalnyi prokuror SSSR), was the highest functionary of the Office of Public Prosecutor of the USSR, responsible for the whole system of offices of public prosecutors and supervision of their activities on the territory of the Soviet Union.

After creation of the Office of Public Prosecutor of the USSR (1936), its head used to be called Public Prosecutor of the USSR until 1946, after that - Prosecutor General of the USSR.

According to the Soviet Constitution of 1936, Prosecutor General exercised the highest degree of direct or indirect (through subordinate public prosecutors) control over the accurate execution of laws by all ministries, departments, their subordinate establishments and enterprises, executive and administrative bodies of local Soviets, cooperative organizations, officials and citizens on behalf of the state.

Prosecutor General was appointed by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for a 7-year term and given a class rank of the Active state counselor of justice. His deputies and Prosecutor General of the Military were appointed by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on recommendation from Prosecutor General. Prosecutor General appointed public prosecutors of the republics of the Union and, on their recommendation, - public prosecutors of autonomous republics, krais, oblasts and autonomous oblasts. He also issued orders and instructions for all of the offices of public prosecutors, instructed on differentiation of their competence etc.

Prosecutor General had the right to present his issues to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet that needed to be solved in the legislative manner or demanded interpretation of the law.

Prosecutor General's participation in the plenary sessions of the Supreme Court of the USSR was mandatory. He had the right to obtain on demand any case from any court for checking purposes, voice his protest over a law, verdict, decree, or definition, which had already come into force, of any court and to suspend them until the matter was resolved.