Businesses will have additional protection during criminal proceedings
20 February 16:07
The Law Enforcement Committee considered the draft Law “On Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine on Improving Guarantees of Protection of Business Entities in Criminal Proceedings” (No. 12439) and recommended that the Verkhovna Rada include it on the agenda of the session and adopt it as a basis. This was reported on the parliament’s website, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
It is emphasized that the draft law is of strategic importance and improves the guarantees of protection of business entities in criminal proceedings.
According to the conclusion of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement, the draft law proposes to amend more than 30 articles of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, as well as to supplement the Code with a new Article 372-1 “Special Ruling of an Investigating Judge or Court”.
The draft law provides for a number of positive changes, including the seizure of property for a period not exceeding two months, the possibility of video recording during searches, access to pre-trial investigation materials and collection of evidence through temporary access to documents, which will strengthen the ability of businesses to defend themselves in court.
What exactly does the draft law propose to change?
The relevant provisions of the draft law “On Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine on Improving Guarantees of Protection of Business Entities in Criminal Proceedings”, in particular
– clarified the legal status of the victim in criminal proceedings by granting him/her the right to receive written information on the nature of the suspicion and accusation, collect evidence, as well as immediately receive an extract from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, a resolution on the commencement of a pre-trial investigation (amendments to Articles 56, 96 of the CPC of Ukraine), etc;
– the procedural procedure for recognizing a material object as material evidence has been specified, and the timeframe for issuing the relevant ruling has been clarified (amendments to Article 98 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– clearly defines the annexes to the protocol, in particular, they may include a description of things and originals or copies of documents seized during temporary access to things and documents or a search (amendments to Article 105 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– the method of recording the course and results of the search has been clarified: the right to unimpeded recording of the course and results of the search by means of audio and video recording is granted to the defense counsel, the victim, his/her representative or legal representative by all available means (amendments to Article 107 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– general rules for application of measures to ensure criminal proceedings have been improved (amendments to Article 132 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– expanded the list of information to be indicated in the motion for temporary access to things and documents, as well as specified the procedure for consideration of such a motion (amendments to Article 160 of the CPC of Ukraine)
– the procedure for execution of the ruling of the investigating judge or court on temporary access to things and documents is detailed, which establishes that, based on the results of access to things and documents, the relevant participant in the criminal proceedings draws up a protocol, to which a description of the seized copies of documents is attached and the owner retains a copy of the protocol and a description of the documents seized pursuant to the ruling (amendments to Article 165 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– the grounds for termination of temporary seizure of property and return of temporarily seized property have been clarified (amendments to Article 169 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– the list of documents to be attached to the motion for seizure of property, including documents confirming the provision/sending of a copy of the motion for seizure of property to the suspect, accused, other owner or possessor of property or his/her defense counsel, legal representative, representative, civil plaintiff, has been supplemented (amendments to Article 171 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– it is established that the failure of an investigator, coroner, or prosecutor to attend a court hearing without valid reasons is a ground for dismissing a motion to seize property, and the failure of other persons to attend a court hearing does not prevent its consideration (amendments to Article 172 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– stipulates that property shall be seized on the basis of a decision of an investigating judge or court for a period not exceeding two months. The term of seizure of property at the pre-trial investigation stage may be extended within the term of the pre-trial investigation, and at the trial stage – within the term of the trial (amendments to Articles 174 and 315 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– it is determined that the investigator, detective, prosecutor immediately, but not later than 24 hours after submitting a statement or report of a criminal offense containing sufficient data on circumstances that may indicate the commission of a criminal offense, or after independently identifying circumstances from any source that may indicate the commission of a criminal offense, is obliged to enter the relevant information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, initiate an investigation and, within 24 hours from the moment of entering such information, provide
– the right of the suspect, his/her defense counsel, representative of the legal entity in respect of which the proceedings are being conducted, in case of revealing during the pre-trial investigation of circumstances confirming violation of the jurisdiction of the criminal offense, to file a motion to change the jurisdiction with a higher-level prosecutor (amendments to Article 216 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– details the procedure for familiarization with the pre-trial investigation materials before its completion (amendments to Article 221 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– provides for mandatory participation of specialists in conducting a search, during which it is planned to search for electronic information systems, computer systems or their parts, mobile terminals (amendments to Article 236 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– the provisions on the consequences of failure of the parties to criminal proceedings to appear in court to participate in the consideration by the investigating judge of the petition for an expert examination were supplemented (amendments to Article 244 of the CPC of Ukraine)
– the procedure for consideration of a motion for permission to conduct a forensic investigation has been detailed: the participation of the person who filed the motion is mandatory; a motion filed without compliance with legal requirements or in violation of the rules of jurisdiction shall be returned to the person who filed it, etc. (amendments to Article 248 of the CPC of Ukraine)
– the list of decisions that may be appealed during the pre-trial investigation has been supplemented (amendments to Article 303 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– the list of rulings of the investigating judge that may be appealed during the pre-trial investigation has been supplemented (amendments to Article 309 of the CPC of Ukraine);
– a new Article 372-1 was added regarding a separate ruling of the investigating judge or court, which is issued in case of violation of procedural obligations, improper fulfillment of them by the participants in criminal proceedings.
It is reported that the draft law was developed pursuant to the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine of January 23, 2024 “On urgent measures to ensure economic security for the period of martial law”.
The draft law was developed by members of the Ukrainian Parliament with the participation of representatives of the Council for Support of Entrepreneurship under Martial Law under the President of Ukraine, established by Presidential Decree of January 26, 2024.
