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Poland The Military Prosecutor
Although the chief military prosecutor remains
structurally
subordinate to the Ministry of National Defense, since
1990 the
scope of the military prosecutor's activities has been
defined by
the Ministry of Justice. This change adds another
dimension of
civilian control over the military. In the communist era,
the
military prosecutor's office acted as a specialized
military
command staffed by political officers, charged with
maintaining
party control in the armed forces, and given authority to
interfere in civilian life to enforce "respect for the
law."
The reform and integration of the military prosecutor's
office into the general justice system was a high priority
of the
first Solidarity-led government in 1989. As part of the
general
overhaul of the justice system embodied in the 1990 Law on
the
Prosecution Office, the chief military prosecutor became a
deputy
of the minister of justice (who also served as prosecutor
general), appointed by the prime minister in consultation
with
the ministers of justice and national defense. In his role
as
prosecutor general, the minister of justice makes all top
military justice appointments in consultation with the
minister
of national defense; the minister of justice is also
consulted on
all special assignments given military prosecutors. The
Office of
the Chief Military Prosecutor also is assigned oversight
of
decisions by military bodies that might controvert
civilian law.
Data as of October 1992
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