Why the issue of prosecutor salaries is relevant
Kyiv • UNN
The reason for the proposed increase in prosecutor salaries is considered, and their activities, functional responsibilities, as well as comparisons with the salaries of anti-corruption bodies are analyzed.
In his speech to the Verkhovna Rada deputies, the then candidate for the position of Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, voiced what caused indignation among some parliamentarians – he called for an increase in prosecutors' salaries.
And indeed – how? At first glance – something unheard of. Outrageous and, as they say, "inopportune".
But Kravchenko has already proven himself as a prudent leader, so it is unlikely that this is just a whim to appease the prosecutor brotherhood. Therefore, we decided to look into the situation.
What makes a prosecutor valuable?
Let's start from the beginning and figure out what prosecutors actually do. Not the anti-corruption ones, whose essence of activity is implied by their name, but the ordinary ones, which have existed as a cornerstone of the law enforcement system for years, and were not created recently by the will of international partners.
In accordance with the legislation, the prosecution is entrusted with the following functions:
- maintaining public prosecution in court;
- representing the interests of a citizen or the state in court;
- supervising compliance with laws by bodies engaged in operational-search activities, inquiry, pre-trial investigation;
- supervising compliance with laws in the execution of court decisions in criminal cases, as well as in the application of other coercive measures related to the restriction of citizens' personal freedom.
Also, in order to realize its functions, the prosecution carries out international cooperation.
Simply put, the activities of prosecutors cover a whole layer of procedural actions from the moment a crime is recorded until a court verdict is delivered; it is the prosecutors who ensure that no one's rights are violated during the investigation, that all evidence is collected and documented in accordance with the requirements of the law and regulations. And this concerns various crimes – from theft to massive enemy missile attacks.
By the way, in the conditions of war, it is precisely prosecutors who bear responsibility for the procedural management of war crimes investigations. And although the investigation itself is carried out by, for example, the National Police or the Security Service, it is the prosecutors who collect evidence of Russia's war crimes to ensure their proper fixation in accordance with international norms and practices. Thus, this evidence can be presented in both Ukrainian and international courts.
That is, if the time comes when Russian criminals finally end up in the dock of an international tribunal, then the evidence documented by Ukrainian prosecutors will form the basis of the charges brought against them.
What does the law provide?
Salaries of all civil servants, as well as law enforcement officers, are regulated by legislation. Employees of the prosecution authorities are no exception.
The official salary of a prosecutor of a district prosecutor's office is 25 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons, the amount of which is set as of January 1 of the calendar year. The official salaries of employees of the regional prosecutor's office are calculated using a coefficient of 1.2, and the highest coefficient – 1.7 – belongs to the Prosecutor General.
It would seem that we should see significant sums at the output. But they are calculated from the underestimated subsistence minimum of 1600 UAH, which has been "frozen" for prosecutors since 2021.
At the same time, the salaries of employees of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau or the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office are calculated based on the standard subsistence minimum, which is currently 3028 UAH.
To understand the difference in salaries: the salary of a district prosecutor's office prosecutor is 40,000 hryvnias, and the official salary of a SAP prosecutor is almost 110,000. Even if multiplied by the coefficient provided, for example, for the Prosecutor General, his official salary will be less than the official salary of a SAP prosecutor.
Of course, you can say that there are bonuses and allowances. But SAP prosecutors also have them, as do the National Police and NABU (whose employees' salaries are at the same level as SAP employees).
What about responsibility? What about the workload?
The latest report on the activities of the prosecution authorities for the first three months of 2025 indicates that in the first-instance courts alone, prosecutors participate in the consideration of over 33,000 cases. According to open sources, we know that in some regions, the workload for one prosecutor can reach two, and sometimes even three hundred cases. Whereas the workload for Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office prosecutors is significantly less.
Why such a workload? – you might ask.
The reasons, as we have already indicated, lie in the fact that ordinary prosecutors carry out their activities related to crimes in various spheres, not limiting themselves exclusively to one type of offense. Another reason for such a colossal workload is the shortage of staff.
Yes, according to data as of August 1, 2024, there were 1745 vacant positions in the prosecution authorities of Ukraine (excluding the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office) (prosecutors, civil servants, employees performing service functions, and workers). And the situation has not improved since then – qualified personnel are not motivated to work in the prosecution authorities, and those who are already working... are waiting for a fair evaluation of their work.
By the way, at the end of last year, people's deputies considered the option of increasing the subsistence minimum from which prosecutors' salaries are calculated to 2102 hryvnias. Under such conditions, the basic salary would be slightly more than 50,000 hryvnias. But this did not happen – the deputies decided not to be so generous at the last moment and failed the vote.
At the same time, the Roadmap for negotiations on joining the EU provides for a competitive salary level in NABU, SAP, NACP, and HACC from the beginning of 2025 – that is, in fact, their continuous increase. Instead, for the prosecution authorities as a whole, the roadmap provides only for a review of functional responsibilities and some expansion of the powers of the Prosecutor's Council.
You can, of course, note that the reputation of a prosecutor in our country is not ideal. But SAP prosecutors were immediately provided with high salaries, and as we see, they plan to increase them further... so that they do not abuse, steal, or commit corrupt acts.
And ordinary prosecutors, it turns out, we force to hustle as best they can? And what is left for those who don't want to, who genuinely wish to conscientiously perform their duty – to move to SAP? Or to go into independent advocacy?
And who then will represent in court not only the interests of the state (which, let's admit, is a rather abstract concept for an ordinary citizen), but, for example, the interests of orphans? Who will ensure that the so-called "turncoats in epaulets" from the district police station of village X do not charge a person who stole a pig with the rape of a minor?
Behind every case in which a prosecutor exercises procedural guidance, there is a person's fate and the pursuit of justice. Therefore, a decent salary for a prosecutor is timely.
