Investigative Committee Day in Belarus Date in the current year: September 12, 2024

The history of Belarusian investigative bodies is closely tied to the history of investigation in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. In pre-revolutionary Russia, the position of a judicial investigator was introduced in the course of Alexander II’s judicial reform. The office was formally established at the courts by the 1864 Judicial Statutes.

Although judicial investigators were court officials, they were not subordinate to heads of courses or prosecutors. Prosecutors did have broad supervising powers over criminal case investigations, but they were not allowed to conduct preliminary investigation themselves.

Over the following years, Russian investigative bodies underwent a lot of organizational and structural rearrangements resulting from social and politician changes in the country. After the October Revolution, the judicial investigator’s office was abolished by the Council of People’s Commissars. Over time it was somewhat restored as the position of investigator was introduced at the courts and then transferred to the prosecutor’s office.

During the first decades of Belarus’s independence, preliminary investigations were conducted by investigators of the prosecutor’s office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, state security agencies, or financial investigation agencies, depending on the situation. However, on September 12, 2011, Alexander Lukashenko established the Investigative Committee, initiating the reformation of the country’s law enforcement system.

The Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus was created in order to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of preliminary investigations. Its work is regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the law “On the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus”, and relevant presidential decrees. The Committee is responsible for complete, comprehensive, impartial, and prompt investigation of crimes according to the established procedures.

The structure of the Investigative Committee includes the Central Office, regional administrations and a separate administration for the city of Minsk, and district (inter-district), city, and district city offices. As of 2021, the chairman of the Investigative Committee was Dmitry Gora, and the deputy chairmen were Oleg Shandarovich, Anatoly Vasiliev, and Sergei Azemsha.

Investigative Committee Day was officially added to the list of professional holidays in Belarus in 2016. On the occasion of the holiday, the chairman of the Investigative Committee and senior government officials, including the president, congratulate employees of the Investigative Committee and express gratitude for their hard work and dedication. The holiday is also marked by award ceremonies, meetings of veterans, concerts, and other events.