State Bureau of Investigation
After its establishment, the State Bureau of Investigation has effectively taken over the jurisdiction previously held by the public prosecutor's office. In fact, it began to fully function on 27 November 2018[338], and exactly a year later, in line with paragraph 1 of the Transitional Provisions of the CPCU[339], the public prosecutor's offices no longer had the authority to conduct pre-trial investigations and have investigators on staff.
Pursuant to Article 216 of the CPCU, the SBI has jurisdiction over crimes committed by persons with a special status: representatives of public and civil service, members of anti-corruption bodies, as well as to the crimes against the established order of the military service (military crimes) under Section XIX of the Criminal Code of Ukraine[340]. On the one hand, SBI jurisdiction is not connected to grave international crimes or investigation of such offences. On the other hand, in practice, there is a question of investigating cases where Ukrainian servicemen have allegedly committed these crimes. Especially given that some of the violations of the laws and customs of war that could potentially be committed by Ukrainian military personnel[341] are envisaged in Chapter XIX of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Article 426 ‘Inaction of military authorities’, Article 432 ‘Marauding’, Article 433 ‘Violence against population in an operational zone’, Article 434 ‘Ill-treatment of prisoners of war’, Article 435 ‘Unlawful use or misuse of the Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Crystal symbols’[342].
In April 2022, the SBI also provided a response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine by establishing a dedicated unit within the Main Investigation Department. Its task is to conduct pre-trial investigations into military offences, offences against peace, human security, and international law and order committed as a result of the Russian Federation's aggressive war against Ukraine, with the participation of the representatives of other countries[343]. Investigators of this department were engaged in documenting the aftermath of the armed conflict in Kyiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions[344]. Based on the public statements from the SBI leadership, this format of work was made possible through an interagency investigation team involving other pre-trial investigative bodies[345]. In practice, however, investigation files were passed on the basis of part 5 article 36 CPCU for a short period of time and eventually were passed back on to SSU.
As SBI investigators stepped up their efforts in the liberated regions, they focused their activities on investigating the actions of officials of various levels, their possible collaboration with the Russian side[346], and any potential breaches of the laws and customs of war in this context[347]. Grave international crimes remain outside the SBI's specialisation and are rare compared to other criminal offences. This suggests that the public prosecutor's offices do not rely enough on the additional investigative resources of the SBI, leaving them out of the overall effort.
In general, the SBI has the smallest number of human resources compared to the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine. Pursuant to Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On the State Bureau of Investigation,’ the maximum number of SBI employees can be 1,600[348]. Against the background of discussions about the potential reform of the Security Service of Ukraine and the transfer of jurisdiction over crimes against the foundations of national security and grave international crimes to the State Bureau of Investigation, the primary concern is whether the SBI's number of employees is sufficient to cope with the significant workload of dealing with the consequences of the armed conflict. If this reform is adopted at the legislative level, it will necessitate a prompt decision on changing the internal structure of the SBI and expanding the number of investigators.
