Complaint to the prosecutor's office: rules, features, sample

In many cases, the Russian Prosecutor's Office becomes the last authority to which citizens turn to seek justice.

The list of issues, actions (including decisions made), or inactions on which can be appealed to the prosecutor's office is quite wide, it is approximately defined in paragraph 2 of Art. 1 Federal Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation” dated 01/07/1992 No. 2201-1 (hereinafter referred to as the Federal Law on the Prosecutor’s Office).

So, according to paragraph 2 of Art. 1 of the said Federal Law, among other things, the following may be appealed to the prosecutor’s office:

Failure to comply with laws and other regulations by federal government bodies of the Russian Federation, government bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local government bodies and their officials, officials of commercial and non-profit organizations;
Violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens by federal government bodies of the Russian Federation, government bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local government bodies and their officials, officials of commercial and non-profit organizations;
Failure to comply with laws by bailiffs.

At the same time, the basis for applying prosecutorial response measures

are, according to Art. 10 Federal Law on the Prosecutor's Office applications, complaints and other appeals from citizens.

Reasons for appeal

Each person may face a violation of his own rights by a legal entity, a representative of a government agency, facts of corruption, or inaction.
In accordance with Federal Law No. 2202-1 “On the Prosecutor’s Office” dated January 17, 1992, the law enforcement agency exercises control over government agencies, commercial and government institutions. You can file a corresponding complaint against any unlawful actions of the above-mentioned persons and organizations.

Common reasons for contacting include:

violation of terms and procedures for payment of wages;
refusal of government bodies to accept/issue documents or provide certain services;
violation of the rights of persons who were taken into custody or detained;
failure to perform official duties by government officials;
illegal actions in the provision of housing and communal services[/anchor] by management companies.

You can contact the prosecutor's office to punish a government agency for failure to comply with a court decision.

Appeals related to violations of the public procurement procedure are also considered. A complaint can be filed if violations of the norms of the Federal Law “On the contract system in the field of procurement of goods, works, services to meet state and municipal needs” dated 04/05/2013 N 44-FZ are identified.

For employees of the prosecutor's office

Complaints about the inaction of the prosecutor's office are often sent to a higher prosecutor's office.

This procedure is provided if:

the initial appeal was not considered;
the agency's employees committed boorish behavior;
officials exceeded their official powers;
personal data was disclosed to third parties.

Reference! The interdistrict or General Prosecutor's Office can punish responsible persons in the prosecutor's office for inaction or unlawful actions.

To the city administration

A complaint from a legal entity or citizen can be filed about the inaction of the city administration. Officials often commit illegal actions.

You can submit an appeal in the following cases:

in the absence of government control over the work of housing and communal services workers;
violation of citizens' rights;
if there is no response to applications, appeals, complaints sent to the administration.

The prosecutor's office can punish officials for inaction or negligence that entails serious consequences.

On what issues can you contact the prosecutor's office with a complaint or statement?

On what issues can you contact the prosecutor's office with a complaint or statement:

illegal actions or inactions of officials of the investigative committee, bailiffs, medical institutions and other organizations;
violations of labor laws, non-payment of wages, illegal dismissal, etc.;
violations in the field of housing legislation and the provision of housing and communal services;
unjustified refusal of a government body to issue documents, certificates or provide services;
violations in the provision of social services;
violations of the rights of convicted persons.

Legal regulation

In accordance with Article 1 of the Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation” dated January 17, 1992 No. 2202-I, the prosecutor’s office supervises:

for compliance and fulfillment of legal requirements:
for the implementation of the rights and freedoms of people in the country.

Every citizen can contact government agencies to resolve issues. This right is assigned to him by Article 2 of Federal Law No. 59 “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation” dated May 2, 2006.

The prosecutor's office accepts appeals related to violations of the law. This norm is prescribed in Article 10 of the Law “On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation”.

General requirements for the preparation of written requests are prescribed in Article 7 of Federal Law No. 59. Registration of documents is carried out on the basis of Article 8 of the same regulatory legal act, consideration - in accordance with Article 10. The deadlines for responding to complaints are given in Article 12 of the law.

Complaint against actions (inaction) of police officers

This is one of the most common types of complaints. Often, a citizen, having contacted the Ministry of Internal Affairs, cannot be sure that his appeal will bring any result. Therefore, contacting the prosecutor’s office is the only pre-trial way to influence police officers if they have violated human rights.

When employees of internal affairs bodies infringed on the freedoms or legal rights of a citizen, or he was even brought to justice illegally, he can safely go to a higher authority and initiate an investigation into his situation. Sometimes a call to 112 and an explanation of your problem over the phone is enough for the inspection authorities to begin an inspection: all calls are recorded.

You can file a complaint against a specific police officer if his name is known to the complainant. There is an option to initially submit it to the head of the police station, whose employees committed unlawful actions, or you can directly submit it to the prosecutor’s office. To do this, you must submit an application according to the above requirements.

If the prosecutor's office refuses to consider a complaint or satisfy a citizen's demands, he has the right to go to court and defend his rights in court.

Requirements for filing a complaint (samples)

A complaint, like any other appeal, is drawn up in free form.
There is no official form for submitting it. But the following requirements for the document are highlighted.

Maintain a business style of narration, without emotional overtones. It is important to express your thoughts clearly and provide facts based on the law.
It is possible to draw up a document either by hand or using a computer. In the first case, you need to write legibly so that the text is easy to read.
The addressee must be indicated. In the header of the document you can indicate a specific responsible employee or the name of the prosecutor's office.

The document must reflect:

applicant's details (last name, first name, patronymic, email address, contact phone number);
method of obtaining a response;
subject of the complaint;
applicant's requirements;
date of compilation;
citizen's signature;
list of attached documents.

The complaint must be made on the merits. Threats, insults, and obscene language are not allowed.

Download a sample complaint to the prosecutor's office

Download a sample complaint to the prosecutor's office against a bailiff

Download a sample complaint to the prosecutor's office against an employer

Download a sample complaint to the prosecutor's office against housing and communal services (management company)

Download a sample complaint to the prosecutor's office about police inaction

Download a sample complaint to the prosecutor's office against debt collectors

Is it possible to file an anonymous complaint?

An anonymous complaint cannot be submitted to the prosecutor's office.
Such requests will not be considered by the government agency. But there are exceptions to this rule. You can contact us anonymously to report information about an impending crime.

In this case, the citizen has two options.

Ask another person to file the complaint in their place. He will take responsibility for conveying information.
You can provide your real data. But at the same time make a note that the citizen does not want to make them public. This is done so that the culprit does not find out about the applicant.

Collective complaint

Either one person or a group of people can contact the prosecutor's office.
In this case, a collective complaint is drawn up. It is important to know how to write and where to submit such an appeal.

The addressee of the appeal is indicated at the top of the document. The following is a list of persons who together submit a complaint. If there are many of them, it is worth indicating “from the organization’s staff” and attaching the list of those applying to the main document.
The main part sets out violations of the rights of all persons applying to the prosecutor's office. The requirements are also stated here.
The final part reflects the documents attached to the complaint.
At the end, all persons whose data is indicated must sign.

Attention! Even if one signature is missing, the document will not be accepted.

Collective complaints are considered more thoroughly. But they rarely go unanswered, unlike individual requests, which can be rejected for formal reasons.

Complaint about the work of the management company

In relation to the management company (MC), there are other authorities for complaining about its work:

you can try to resolve the matter peacefully by contacting the management of the management company;
complain to the Housing Inspectorate;
complain to Rospotrebnadzor.

If all these measures are not effective, you can contact the prosecutor's office. The text is compiled according to the same requirements as indicated above. The applicant also clearly describes the violations in the work of the management company (for example, its employees do not remove garbage), photograph the violations in such a way that it is clear where the photo was taken and attach them as evidence. The details of this management company, address, telephone, etc. are indicated. The text should clarify that the above fact is a violation of the company’s agreement with the residents of the house.

A properly drafted and submitted complaint to the prosecutor's office is an excellent pre-trial way to protect one's civil rights. Globally speaking, it performs a regulatory function in the state: this is how public services can monitor themselves, their actions and the law-abiding activity of all elements of society. Every citizen of the Russian Federation has the right to contact the prosecutor’s office; Moreover, it is recommended to do this to protect your rights in a timely manner.

How to file a complaint?

There are several ways to file a complaint requesting an inspection and action.

Upon personal visit to the prosecutor's office. To do this, you need to make an appointment with the prosecutor. The address and appointment schedule are posted on the official website of the selected institution. Both oral appeal and transmission of a written document are allowed. At the time of visit, a passport will be required to confirm the citizen’s identity.
By post. The address for sending a complaint can be found on the official website of the authority. It is important to send by registered mail with acknowledgment of delivery. The envelope contains the complaint, as well as documents confirming the facts.
Through the box for requests and applications. It is installed in the reception area of the prosecutor's office. Correspondence is collected daily. Applications drawn up in compliance with all requirements are registered and considered by the prosecutor.
Through the Internet reception of the prosecutor's office. You can file a complaint electronically through the prosecutor’s office website on the Internet. For this purpose there is a section “Internet reception”. All information regarding the application and personal data are entered into a special form.
Through State Services. An online complaint can be submitted on the State Services portal. The appeal is registered and considered in the same manner as for personal transmission.

At any time, a citizen can call the prosecutor's hotline. The number can be checked on the website of the territorial authority.

What to do in case of refusal

The decision made by the prosecutor does not exclude the applicant's ability to go to court on identical grounds.

The applicant or his representative may familiarize himself with the materials on consideration of the application, make extracts and copies from them on the basis of a written application.

Filing a complaint to a higher authority

An unjustified refusal by a prosecutor to satisfy a complaint, as well as inaction during its consideration, can be appealed to a higher prosecutor's office or to a court.

A complaint against a prosecutor can be sent to a higher prosecutor by registered mail, submitted in person, or electronically by filling out a form on the website.

When writing a complaint, you must indicate the reasons why you do not agree with the opinion of the prosecutor, and in the petition part, indicate what measures you are asking to take.

A complaint can be sent to the Prosecutor General's Office only after a response or expiration of the deadline from a superior prosecutor with all correspondence documents attached.

Appeals against the actions or inactions of the prosecutor in court are regulated by the Code of Administrative Proceedings and are considered within 1 month from the date of receipt of the administrative claim.

Terms of consideration

In accordance with the provisions of Article 5 of the Order of the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia “On the approval and implementation of the Instructions on the procedure for considering applications and receiving citizens in the prosecutor's office of the Russian Federation,” applications must be considered within 30 days.
The countdown begins from the moment the document or oral communication is registered. If additional verification and clarification of data is not required, the review period is 15 days. Since all actions of the prosecutor's office are strictly regulated, a specific time for response is established for the consideration of received complaints.

Issues covered	Review period, days
General questions from citizens that require careful verification of the information received. If necessary, the period is extended	30 up to 30
Shortened period for response if the question does not require detailed study	15
Cases of an urgent nature usually involve criminal offences. In particularly complex and complicated situations, the period can be extended upon request from the prosecutor	3 to 10
If a complaint has been received to the wrong address, it must be redirected to the appropriate structures	7

If the last day to respond falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline is extended to the first working day.

Procedure for considering a complaint

Article 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation reflects the procedure for considering complaints by the prosecutor or the head of the investigative body.

The complaint is considered within 3 days from the date of receipt. If you need to study additional materials, the period increases to 10 days.

After this, the result of the consideration of the complaint is issued.

It could be as follows:

satisfy - measures must be taken to respond to the prosecutor, the rights of citizens are restored fully or partially;
reject - if rights are not violated, and the demands reflected in the complaint are considered unfounded;
clarify – legal issues are clarified in the absence of a request to satisfy demands or petitions;
forward – the appeal has been forwarded for execution to the relevant authorities and institutions.

The resolution issued by the prosecutor's office must specify the procedural actions and the deadlines for their implementation.

When does a complaint go unanswered?

If a citizen files a complaint to conduct an inspection or take other measures, he cannot always count on a positive result.
In accordance with the law, there will be no response to an appeal if:

the text of the complaint cannot be read and forwarded to other government bodies (the citizen is notified of this within 7 days);
the applicant is recognized as incompetent in the presence of a mental illness, a court decision;
the text contains insults, obscene language, and threats;
the complaint is anonymous (except for cases provided for by law);
To satisfy the complaint, it will be necessary to disclose state secrets.

In these cases, the applicant will not receive a response to the appeal.

A complaint to the prosecutor's office is filed if there are violations of citizens' rights. The document is drawn up in any form, but must reflect the basic information to resolve the issue. Anonymous requests will not be considered. If the decision is positive, the responsible authorities must take action. In case of violation of the rules for drawing up and submitting appeals, the complaint will be rejected.

How to file a collective application?

A complaint written by a group of people has features in the text of the appeal. It must be drawn up with a list of all the necessary details, with a clear list of people who are complaining about the organization or a specific person.

If the list of persons does not fit into the text of the complaint, then you need to make a list on a separate sheet and attach it to the application sent to the Prosecutor's Office.

The application must indicate that it is of a collective nature!