New draft law: how MPs want to change liability for corruption
13 May 17:08
MPs propose to change the penalties for corruption for officials at all levels. The essence of the draft law is to reduce the period of time an official stays on the “black” list of corrupt officials, which is essentially an amnesty, forgiveness for mistakes in the declaration. Komersant analyzed whether the draft law can be called “effective counteraction to corruption and respect for the rights of citizens, in particular the right to fair, proportional and predictable law enforcement,” as its authors claim.
The Verkhovna Rada has received a draft law on amendments to the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and other laws of Ukraine to improve the procedure for bringing to justice persons authorized to perform state or local government functions.
According to the authors, the draft law has several goals:
- updating the criteria for criminal and administrative liability in the field of declaration and illicit enrichment;
- improving the procedure for pre-trial investigation of offenses;
- automation of the procedures of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, ensuring a more complete and reliable exchange of data between the registers used to verify declarations, and protection of bona fide declarants.
The new version of the legislation proposes to release a person from liability if errors in the declaration are caused by inaccurate data obtained from state registers or technical failures. This should prevent formal, automated punishment without establishing guilt.
Eliminate gaps in legal regulation regarding the timeframe for storing information in the Unified State Register of Persons Who Committed Corruption or Corruption-Related Offenses.
“The introduction of clearly defined terms for storing information about individuals in the Unified State Register of Persons Who Committed Corruption or Corruption-Related Offenses is aimed at achieving a balance between the public interest in combating corruption and respect for the rights and freedoms of citizens,” said the author of the draft law, MP Serhiy Vlasenko.
Corrupt for one year
Lawyers have already noted that while previously the names of those found guilty of corruption remained in the so-called “register of corrupt officials” forever, which prevented them from being employed by state or local authorities, now MPs propose to remove them from this list after a certain period of time, giving them a second chance. And all this is due to amendments to Article 59 of the Law of Ukraine “On Prevention of Corruption”.
“Information on bringing to disciplinary liability, information on bringing to civil liability and information on imposing an administrative penalty for committing a corruption or corruption-related offense shall be entered into the USR for 1 year from the date of imposition of the penalty. And only information about bringing to criminal liability for committing a corruption or corruption-related offense is entered until the person’s conviction is repaid or removed. That is, as they say, to freedom with a clear conscience, and in this case, with an “untarnished” biography. It’s very convenient,” says lawyer Valentyn Serov.
But the most interesting thing is that Article 19 “Right to Civil Service” of the Law “On Civil Service” completely rewrites paragraph 5, part 2, which currently reads:
“A person who: has been subjected to an administrative penalty for an offense related to corruption – within 3 years from the date of entry into force of the relevant court decision – cannot be hired for civil service.”
MPs believe that it should now read as follows:
“A person who: has been subjected to an administrative penalty for an offense related to corruption, and whose information is contained in the Unified State Register of Persons Who Committed Corruption or Corruption-Related Offenses, cannot be hired for civil service.”
In other words, if there is no information, you can hire them.
Declarants will be able to avoid liability
No less interesting changes are in store for declarants. The National Agency has actually been given an ultimatum – it must:
“Ensure that the declaring entities automatically upload information about them and their family members contained in information and telecommunication and reference systems, registers, databases, the holder (administrator) of which is a state body or local government, including information with restricted access, to the declaration form.”
And if they do not, then:
“The declaring entity shall be released from liability for incomplete information in the declaration of a person authorized to perform the functions of the state or local self-government.”
The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption is also obliged to notify the declarant if third parties, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the prosecutor’s office, request information about him or her – no later than one day before the data is transferred. Very convenient.
“The new clause stipulates that ‘the declaring entity shall be released from liability for incomplete information in the declaration for 2024 if the NACP fails to cope with the automated uploading of information into the declaration form. This means that those who filled out the declaration but did not indicate a house, car, land, etc. will avoid liability,” says attorney Valentyn Serov.
The changes are very interesting and can help many people avoid punishment, the lawyer notes. There is no doubt that MPs will pass this bill, as it may be useful to them in the future.
Author: Alla Dunina
