E/CN.4/2005/6/Add.3 page 8 12. The President of the Republic has the authority to appoint and dismiss the chairpersons of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the Higher Economic Court. The President has also the authority to appoint all other judges of the Supreme and Economic Courts, with the consent of the Council of the Republic. 13. Article 84 (11) of the Constitution permits the President of the Republic to dismiss judges of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Justice and the Economic Court, in accordance with the law. The President has the power to appoint 6 of the 12 members of the Constitutional Court, including its chairperson. There is no requirement in this selection process for the President to engage in consultations to determine the most appropriate candidates. The Council of the Republic appoints the remaining six members. 2. The Prosecutor’s Office 14. The General Prosecutor’s Office is an independent body under the direct supervision of the President of the Republic (article 127 of the Constitution). This institution is composed of the General Prosecutor, the Deputy General Prosecutor and, like the court system, regional (oblast) and Minsk city prosecutors, and district prosecutors. The General Prosecutor is appointed by the House of Representatives upon the recommendation of the President of the Republic. The President also appoints the Deputy General Prosecutor, as well as regional and Minsk prosecutors and district prosecutors. 15. The Prosecutor’s Office acts both as an investigation agency (together with the Ministry of the Interior, the KGB and specialized prosecutors such as military, financial and transport prosecutors), and, in court, as the representative of the State, bringing and justifying charges and requesting sentences against the accused. When acting as an investigator, the Prosecutor’s Office limits itself to the most serious crimes, as well as to financial crimes. The Prosecutor’s Office also decides after the initial stage of an investigation whether a suspect is to remain in detention until the court hearing. The public prosecutors also support State charges in courts and represent the State’s interests. The supervision of places of pre-trial detention with regard to conditions of detention and claims from detainees as well as the execution of sentences also fall within the competence of the Prosecutor’s Office. 3. The investigator 16. According to the law, the decision to place a suspect in pre-trial detention until the court hearing on conviction and sentencing lies exclusively with the Prosecutor’s Office, on recommendation of the investigative body. The Ministry of the Interior, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Military Prosecutor, the Department of Financial Investigations, as well as the KGB and officers from other State agencies are entitled with powers of investigation. The investigators are in charge of arresting a suspect and placing him/her in a temporary detention facility. In practise, if the investigator wants the suspect to remain in pre-trial detention or to be released under certain conditions, the prosecutor will rubber-stamp the recommendation of the investigator. These bodies, sharing law enforcement and internal security responsibilities, also have the competence to carry out the preliminary investigation and to decide whether there are enough charges to indict a suspect with an offence.