On May 19, the Verkhovna Rada committees adopted as many as three important decisions that can significantly affect the fight against corruption in Ukraine.
The committee on legal policy supported and included in the agenda of the session draft laws No. 5369 and 5370, which concern the activity of the Kyiv Administrative Court.
Let us remind you that the draft law No. 5369 provides for the liquidation of the KAC and the creation of a new Kyiv Municipal Administrative Court. Draft law No. 5370 envisages a mechanism for transferring cases from the KAC to the newly created court and regulates the moment of actual liquidation of the court. According to them, the KAC will continue to consider current cases until the creation of a new court.
We elaborated on these draft laws here.
In turn, the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy recommended that the parliament consider draft law No. 5459-1, designed to bring the status of the NABU in compliance with the requirements of the Constitution.
It’s good that among the four options, the MPs, in our opinion, chose the best one because it carries the least risks for the independence of the NABU head. However, it’s not perfect. You can read about its drawbacks in our analysis.
The Committee on Law Enforcement Policy considered and approved for consideration in the second reading the presidential draft law No. 4651 on strengthening responsibility for lying in declarations.
2021 was the first year when declarations were submitted in the absence of effective deterrent sanctions for lying in declarations or failing to submit them. The president’s legislative initiative is aimed at improving this situation.
TI Ukraine in general has already defined the text of the draft law as a movement in the right direction.
Now all these important documents will be considered by MPs: the draft laws on the NABU and the KAC in the first reading, and the draft law on strengthening responsibility for lying in declarations in the second reading.
