MPs want to restrict access to court decisions. Lawyers explained why this is dangerous
24 May 2024 17:15
On 23 May, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading a draft law restricting public access to court decisions in war-related criminal cases. The document was supported by 250 MPs, reports [Kommersant]
The explanatory note to the draft law states that it was developed to prevent the disclosure of certain information in the texts of court decisions:
“…certain information from the pre-trial investigation is or may be disclosed by persons who have full access to the Register, which prompts investigative authorities to adopt resolutions to restrict full and general access to electronic copies of court decisions in the Register.”
– reads the explanatory note.
The draft law introduces the following amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Access to Court Decisions”
- access to court decisions related to the seizure of property and searches of homes is provided one year after such decisions are entered into the register;
- the publication of information on the names and addresses of military facilities in the open texts of court decisions is restricted; it is proposed to replace such information with letter or number designations;
- during martial law, general access to court decisions in criminal proceedings against persons suspected of committing criminal offences against the foundations of national security, protection of state secrets, inviolability of state borders, conscription and mobilisation or against the established procedure for military service is restricted. It is proposed to provide general access to these decisions one year after the end of martial law;
- for the duration of martial law, if the trial was held in open court, but the disclosure of certain information, in the opinion of the court, may harm security, the court may, when sending the decision to the register, determine the relevant information as not subject to disclosure.
Former Deputy Prosecutor General and lawyer Oleksiy Bahanets believes that MPs should have communicated this idea better to the public. After all, the registry exists so that people have access to it.
“If someone is afraid that a person’s personal data will be disclosed, you know that in these court decisions, the defendants are listed as PERSON 1, 2, 3, etc. In cases where some kind of state secret is to be preserved, there are indeed grounds to classify the court decision, and this is normal. But to simply prohibit access to court decisions – as a lawyer, I do not understand what this gives and why it is necessary,”
– baganets said in an exclusive commentary to Kommersant Ukrainskiy 
Human rights activist Eduard Bagirov points out that representatives of various branches of power in Ukraine often test the public’s reaction to such information by throwing it out there. And depending on how society reacts, they develop further mechanisms for implementing their plans.
“Of course, any restriction on the part of the state is a bad situation for the protection of the rights of Ukrainian citizens, for the work of lawyers in terms of the effective use of laws to help citizens. And if someone lobbies for this, it will mean that big government offices have decided to restrict the rights of Ukrainian citizens. And if we remain silent, they will do it,”
– bagirov said
Therefore, the human rights activist believes that society must unite against this draft law.
“This topic needs to be raised. Such actions, if implemented, will significantly restrict human rights in Ukraine. I will personally blacklist the names of members of the Verkhovna Rada and heads of state bodies of Ukraine, and after we win, we will ask them to answer. We cannot restrict the rights of Ukrainian citizens. On the one hand, this is done by Russia, on the other – by our authorities,”
– he said.
