The prosecutor’s office often serves as the last resort to which citizens turn to achieve a fair solution in controversial situations. Many, as a rule, try to resolve conflicts peacefully at the level of local authorities, without bringing the proceedings to higher structures.
Who can file a complaint or application with the prosecutor?
All Russian citizens and foreigners residing or staying on the territory of the Russian Federation have the opportunity to apply to law enforcement authorities. But, unfortunately, few people know about the timing of the consideration of complaints by the prosecutor. What happens after a direct appeal to law enforcement and how long do citizens wait for an answer?
Representatives of the prosecution authorities have obligations to monitor and supervise the rule of law and rule of law. You can find out on how long the consideration of the submitted application should be in this or that case can be found in the legislative acts of the relevant branch of procedural law and the Federal Law “On the Procedure for Considering Appeals of Citizens of the Russian Federation”. The period of waiting for an official decision on the appeal may vary depending on the specifics of the case, clarification of circumstances on this issue and other factors.
What must be indicated in a written appeal?
A complaint to the prosecutor's office is submitted in writing or sent by e-mail. Before a citizen’s statement reaches a competent official, its essence and form are studied previously by prosecutors.
In a written appeal, it is necessary to state its essence, endorse with a personal signature and put a date, as well as indicate:
- full name of the territorial body of the prosecutor's office;
- information about the applicant;
- postal or electronic address to which the reply should be sent;
- contact number.
To confirm their own arguments, the citizen who has applied should attach documentary sources, additional information or their copies to the written request. The response to the complaint or statement, including one received in electronic form, is sent to the postal or electronic address within the time limits established for the consideration of the complaint by the Russian prosecutor's office.
What determines the terms of consideration of applications?
In accordance with the established requirements, a complaint or application is transferred for consideration by the prosecutor. The time frame for the decision will be made, largely depends on the following conditions:
- the need for a subordinate case study by lower-level law enforcement agencies;
- full or partial satisfaction of the interests of the applied citizen, restoration of his violated rights;
- the need for outreach on the requirements specified in the complaint.
In addition, the appeal may be rejected if, as a result of an audit by law enforcement authorities, it turns out that the requirements indicated therein were unfounded. When refuting the facts of any violation, the appeal:
- return to the applicant;
- attach to previous materials received from the same person and send to the archive;
- leave without consideration and permission;
- sent to subordinate structures.
General and reduced time for familiarization with the details of the case
The deadlines for handling complaints in the prosecutor's office are divided into two main categories: general and abbreviated. The “standard” waiting period for citizens is 30 calendar days. As a rule, most of these appeals do not need an urgent response, and therefore law enforcement officers have enough time to make the necessary inquiries and get answers to them, check the authenticity of the facts indicated in the appeal, find out additional information that contributes to the successful resolution of the issue.
In some cases, the period for consideration of appeals (applications, complaints) by the prosecutor's office is reduced to 15 days. On what grounds can I get an answer faster, the Federal Law “On the Procedure for Considering the Appeal of Citizens of the Russian Federation” dated 05/02/2006 says:
- if the appeal does not need additional verification;
- if a statement or complaint is made by representatives of the corps of commissioners for human rights;
- if it is required to give an answer to the parliamentary or deputy request.
Urgent review of a citizen’s appeal
Applications are immediately accepted for consideration, decisions on which are made within three days. At the request of the prosecutor, the indicated time limits for consideration by the prosecutor of complaints and applications can be extended, but not more than for a 10-day period. Most often this category includes complaints arising in criminal procedure. If the deadline for considering a complaint in the prosecutor's office falls on a public holiday or a day off, then the next working day will be the date the decision is made on it.
A separate category of appeals can include applications and complaints taken under the special control of law enforcement officers and the General Prosecutor's Office in particular. The Federal Law “On the Procedure for Considering the Appeal of Citizens” is not applied in this case, the terms are regulated individually.
Recommendations: what is the best way to file a complaint with the prosecutor?
The appeal is considered accepted from the moment of registration of the incoming appeal in the appropriate register. The procedure for handling complaints by prosecution authorities does not specify the option of submitting a document. However, in practice, the best and most proven way is to make an appointment with a competent official. In this case, the appeal will be registered on the same day.
When sending a complaint by mail, the deadlines can be significantly delayed. In addition, when submitting an application to the prosecutor's office, it is worth considering several important recommendations:
- Law enforcers are required to notify the citizen who has applied and the delays arising in the process of consideration and their reasons.
- The appeal can be made both in writing (by hand) and typed on a computer. The main thing is that the text should be legible, there are no grammatical and lexical errors.
- The prosecutor’s office will not consider applications sent anonymously or repeatedly, as well as those upon which repeated checks were carried out.
- To clarify the result of consideration of the application or the need for an oral explanation of its essence, the applicant has the right to make an appointment with a competent person.
Why are the deadlines for considering the case in the prosecutor's office violated?
As a rule, the decision-making process in its duration does not go beyond the deadline for considering a complaint to the prosecutor. Whatever the result, the applicant must receive a response without fail. If the terms of the review are delayed, or the results of the verification of the applicant are not reported, then the document was probably not accepted. In most cases, incorrectly executed applications are returned to applicants within a week. The prosecutor's office may be denied the consideration of the complaint because of the need for clarification, in which case law enforcement officers send a response to the citizen with a request to supplement the appeal with facts, details of the information provided, etc.
Within seven days, the applicant will receive a response letter from the prosecutor's office if:
- his appeal was considered a direct intervention in the work of supervisory structures;
- The complaint or statement contains a threat to the lives of employees or third parties;
- the text contains obscene language, swearing insulting words.
What complaints will I not consider in the prosecutor's office?
The response of law enforcement officers will be supplemented by a warning about the impossibility and inadmissibility of such an appeal to the state oversight bodies in the future. In some cases, an unfair addressee may be threatened with administrative liability. The timing of the consideration of citizens' complaints by the prosecutor's office is not taken into account with the illogical and meaningless content of the appeal. If the applicant does not agree with the decision on his appeal, law enforcement officers will indicate to him the possibility of appealing the decision to a higher or judicial authority.
If the citizen’s submitted application does not fall within the competence of the supervisor, such an application is redirected for consideration to the appropriate structure. Within a week, prosecutors are required to notify the applicant of this.
Features of filing an appeal to the state supervision authorities
At the initial appeal of the citizen, the application is sent to a lower law enforcement agency if no previous verification of this issue has been carried out. If the text contains information about the commission of a criminal offense, the appeal is sent to the police department to start the criminal proceedings. Before you write a complaint to the prosecutor, you should first clarify whether the proceedings on this issue will fall within the competence of the prosecutor, and therefore, it would be a rational decision to obtain preliminary advice from a lawyer. A specialist who is knowledgeable in the relevant legal field will not only provide valuable advice on further actions, but will also guide the applicant in the time frame for the prosecutor's office to consider complaints and applications.
As already noted, the prosecutor's office does not leave the citizens' appeal unanswered. An exception is anonymous and other documents drawn up incorrectly. After a comprehensive verification of the case, the applicant is sent a response - a decision in the case, endorsed by the prosecutor. Consideration of the complaint is considered completed only if the law enforcement authorities eliminated all the violations that were indicated in the appeal, or gave instructions to address them.
How and when can I get acquainted with the prosecutor's decision?
When making a prosecutor’s submission, the applicant is explained where and at what time he can get acquainted with the results of the execution of the prosecutor’s decision. In a collective appeal, a response letter is sent either to everyone whose signatures are present under the application, or to someone whose last name is indicated first. This citizen is also obliged to notify the other participants of the appeal about the results of the audit.
The term for consideration of complaints by the prosecutor is from 3 to 30 days, but in the case of the prosecutor’s request, it can be extended for a period of 10 to 30 days. But pay attention also to other time constraints. For example, the deadlines for appealing decisions made by officials or the court in the field of criminal proceedings, as a rule, do not exceed ten days. If the applicant complained to an inappropriate institution, then the host authority is obliged to send the appeal to the destination, notifying the citizen within seven days and giving him the necessary clarifications regarding the subsequent legally competent steps.
Completion of the complaint and official correspondence
In accordance with federal law, neither a complaint, nor a statement received by the state supervisory authorities and drawn up in proper form, can be left without attention. However, to stop correspondence between the applicant and the prosecution authorities, the following conditions must be met:
- All arguments are checked, the completeness of the disclosure of the questions posed.
- The applicant must receive a reasoned opinion from the prosecutor's office within 7 days that further correspondence is inappropriate.
- Upon completion of the correspondence, the receipt of new communications that do not have additional arguments does not serve as reasons for its resumption.