Existing fines for violation of language legislation may be increased
20 December 18:12
ANALYSIS FROM 
Olena Ivanovska, the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, has proposed that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine increase administrative fines for violations of the language law. In her opinion, the current sanctions do not fulfill a preventive function and do not stop violators. Symbolic fines do not have a sufficient deterrent effect. It is often cheaper to pay a fine than to bring activities into compliance with the law. What does the language ombudsman propose and will an increase in fines help solve the problem – "Komersant Ukrainian" looked into it.
According to the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, the number of complaints about violations in the service, advertising, and Internet resources is growing, and the low level of accountability creates a sense of impunity among violators.
“Disproportionate fines do not motivate business entities to voluntarily comply with language standards. Increased liability is necessary for real compliance with the law, respect for the state language as a constitutional value and an element of national security,” the ombudsman said.
Violation of the law is punishable by a fine of five to twelve thousand hryvnias
According to the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language,” administrative and disciplinary liability, and in some cases criminal liability, is provided for its violation. Fines are imposed on individual entrepreneurs, officials and legal entities. Liability is regulated by the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (Articles 187-4, 188-46, 188-47, 188-48, 212-6).
Main violations and fines for business and services (Articles 188-46 of the Code of Administrative Offenses)
These are the most frequent cases concerning the service sector and consumers. For example, the absence of the Ukrainian version of price tags, instructions, signs, advertisements, an English-language website/application interface without a Ukrainian version. Or refusal to provide services in the state language.
The legislator has established a clear “cost” of ignoring the Ukrainian language in the public sphere. Regardless of whether the norms are violated in a cafe, on the pages of a publication, or in an official’s office, the sanctions will be the same:
Managers and entrepreneurs will be fined UAH 5100-6800.
Legal entities – a fine of UAH 10200-11900.
In addition, in all cases, illegal materials are confiscated, whether they are signs, circulation or documents that do not comply with the law.
A separate article applies to citizens: public humiliation of the state language is punishable by a fine of UAH 5,100-6,800.
The language may be punishable by a jail term
The main supervisory authority is the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language. The language ombudsman conducts inspections (at the request of citizens or on a scheduled basis) and draws up a report on an administrative offense. Cases are considered by courts (local administrative courts or judges alone). Employees of the National Police and other bodies within their competence can also conduct inspections.
Civil servants, teachers, doctors and other public sector employees are subject to disciplinary action at their place of work, in addition to fines. This may include a reprimand, a warning of incomplete performance, and eventual dismissal for repeated violations.
Criminal liability (Art. 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine “Violation of Equality of Citizens Based on Their Linguistic Characteristics”) is applied in case of malicious and intentional violation that is systematic and public. It is punishable by a fine of UAH 5100 to 8500, or correctional labor for up to 2 years, or arrest for up to 6 months, or imprisonment for up to 5 years (for public calls for violation of equality). But in practice, it is rarely used, mainly in cases of outright language discrimination or provocation.
But often, the first step is a warning and an order to eliminate the violation within a specified period of time. A fine is issued if the violation is not eliminated. Fines increase for repeated violations within a year.
According to Opendatabot, the number of appeals regarding violations of the language law decreased last year – 1808 appeals from citizens about violations of the language law. This is 1.7 times less than in the same period in 2023. Most of all, Ukrainians complained about the lack of a Ukrainian version of the website – 525 appeals or 29%. Service in Russian was the reason for 288 complaints, or 16% of appeals. Another 14% or 247 violations were related to advertising. There is no recent data, so it is difficult to judge whether there were any violations and what kind.
It is possible that the decrease in complaints is due to the fact that citizens hardly ever violate the language law. Unfortunately, the language ombudsman also did not provide figures on violations, but stated that the current fines are not high enough.
The purpose of the law is to integrate the language into life
The fines for violating language laws in Ukraine are already substantial, especially for businesses. The head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, spoke out against the fines even before they came into force. On his Telegram channel, he stated that “this is absurd, business is only obliged to pay taxes and nothing else, the rest is regulated by the market. I don’t want to change anything in the language law itself, it’s all crooked. But I propose to simply cancel these fines and resolve this issue in this way, rather than creating informers.”
Lawyers also noted that the purpose of implementing the law should not be punitive, but rather stimulating to ensure that Ukrainian as the state language is used everywhere in all public spheres of life.
“A formal approach instead of real changes: High fines can lead not to a qualitative transition to the Ukrainian language, but to a formal “fending off” of inspections (for example, temporary stickers over the text). The purpose of the law is to integrate the language into life, not to fill the budget. In multiethnic regions, harsh punitive measures can be perceived as coercive and cause rejection, which is counterproductive to the goal of consolidating society. In times of war and economic hardship, a part of society may perceive increased penalties as a misallocation of administrative resources when there are more pressing problems,” says lawyer Inna Ganzha.
On the one hand, fines should be significantly increased for malicious and repeat offenders who systematically ignore the law. For primary and minor violations, warnings and reasonable fines should remain, the lawyer believes. But, above all, it is necessary to strengthen explanatory work and make the requirements as specific as possible so that businesses are not tempted to break the law out of ignorance. It is necessary to fight not only the consequence (violations) but also the cause (misunderstanding or lack of opportunities).
In the long run, increasing fines for systemic violators is probably necessary to make the law really effective. However, this should be part of a balanced policy where the main focus is on creating conditions for comfortable and natural compliance with the law, not just punishment. Without this, there is a risk of achieving not respect for the language, but only increased dissatisfaction and formal compliance.
Author: Alla Dunina
