Transparency International Ukraine and Anti-Corruption Action Center urge the Committee on Legislative Support of Law Enforcement to include the amendments proposed by MP Mustafa Nayem to in draft law No. 8336 which will prevent individuals involved in corruption-related cases influence forensic reviews.
Anti-corruption organizations emphasize that draft law No. 8336 in the version approved in the first reading provides new opportunities for individuals involved in corruption-related criminal cases to hamper the investigation.
Forensic reviews constitute a key element of corruption-related investigations, since that is how the amounts of damages to the national budget are established, which influence not only the punitive measures but also the possibility to bring the guilty to criminal responsibility.
For instance, the draft law maintains the need for a court ruling for appointment of economic and other forensic reviews, which wastes valuable time for investigation of such crimes. The draft law also stipulates the creation of a unified register of expert reviews, which will allow numerous people to access information on the subject and executors of forensic reviews in specific investigations, which will create additional opportunities for pressuring them. Besides, the project reinforces the governmental monopoly for such expert reviews.
Draft law No. 8336 in the version approved in the first reading provides new opportunities for individuals involved in corruption-related criminal cases to hamper the investigation.
Amendments proposed by MP Mustafa Nayem may fix these problematic provisions.
According to the agenda, the Committee on Legislative Support of Law Enforcement must review the draft law on October 17 ahead of the second reading.
We urge Head of the Committee Andrii Kozhemiakin and members of the committee to take into account the amendments proposed by Mustafa Nayem while preparing draft law No. 8336 for the second reading.
Among other things, we urge MPs to do the following in the course of preparation:
Abolish court control over all types of forensic reviews, including those that are typically performed in corruption-related investigations. The forensic reviews in question are economic, handwriting, linguistic, video and audio recording analysis as well as merchandising reviews. With the help of courts and the register of court decisions, the charged will be able to understand detectives’ specific plans concerning expert reviews, find out the specific questions to the expert, identify the institution tasked with the forensic review, “facilitate” appointment of biased experts.
Eliminate the provision on the register of forensic reviews. Creation of a register with an unclear list of data accessible to a potentially unlimited group of people can lead to a leak of information on expert reviews and experts performing them. As the result, those involved in proceedings may track forensic reviews and pressure experts as well as find out other information about the criminal proceedings.
Put an end to governmental monopoly for expert reviews in corruption-related and economic crimes. When only governmental institutions are allowed to perform forensic reviews, it delays the investigation, since some institutions have excessive workload, and certain cases may wait for expert review for over a year, which then leads to closure of cases without proper investigation. Besides, governmental monopoly creates additional opportunities for pressure on the experts through the hierarchy.
Members of parliament should include these amendments to ensure independence of forensic reviews, which play a key role in investigation of top corruption. Economic forensic reviews often have a direct impact on the severity of the sentence and the possibility to bring the guilty to criminal responsibility in the first place.
Amendments proposed by MP Mustafa Nayem may fix these problematic provisions.
