Last year, Ukraine scored 33 points out of 100 and was ranked 116th. Back then, we were among the 15 countries that showed the highest growth in the Index in 10 years. Ukraine has increased its indicators by 8 points since 2013. 

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a ranking calculated by the global organization Transparency International since 1995. The Index is calculated based on 13 studies by reputable international institutions and think tanks. The CPI measures the perception of corruption, not the actual level of corruption, and only in the public sector.

The results of the 2023 CPI will be published on the website and social networks of Transparency International Ukraine. Stay tuned for updates. 

The post On January 30, we are presenting the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

Social activists, do you have ideas for projects but lack funds required for their implementation? Are you wondering where to search for sources of financing? Do you hope to learn how to write project proposals? This particular workshop is an excellent opportunity to develop fundraising skills for civil society organizations. The event will take place on 24 January from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Workshop program:

– How to write a grant application for funding: purpose, objective, and problem statement.
– Formulate the project budget.
– What must one remember when cooperating with donors?
– Monitoring and evaluation of project results: how to construct indicators?

The trainees will be working with:

• Anastasiya Kozlovtseva, Head of International Relations Department / Fundraiser, Transparency International
• Anastasiia Mazurok, Monitoring and Evaluation Expert, Transparency International Ukraine.

The number of participants is limited. Representatives of local civil society organizations from Khmelnytskyi are invited. The organizers provide food and handouts. If you would like to participate, please register by 6 p.m. on 22 January 2019 via http://bit.ly/2FeYdDD

The organizers will notify those selected post-registration. If you have any questions, please email Regional Coordinator of TI Ukraine Halyna Skalska: skalska@ti-ukraine.org

This workshop is conducted by Transparency International Ukraine as part of its project implemented under the USAID/ENGAGE activity, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact. The contents of this workshop are the sole responsibility of Pact and its implementing partners and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

The post How to Raise Funds for CSO Projects? | Workshop in Khmelnytskyi first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

If the international experts have doubts concerning integrity and professionalism of a particular candidate, they will initiate a review of this issue at a joint meeting with the HQCJ. If at least three out of the six members of the PCIE do not confirm the candidate’s integrity and professionalism, this candidate will no longer be able to proceed in the competition.
After this, the HQCJ will select winners among the remaining candidates at its own discretion.

Civil society organizations Transparency International Ukraine, Anti-Corruption Action Center, DEJURE Foundation and Automaidan have analyzed the list of the candidates to the HACC and identified questionable applicants.

The candidates with successful written test results include so-called Maidan judges, candidates with wealth of questionable origin and those who were involved in highly unethical behavior.

The list of candidates that the civil society organizations believe to be ineligible for the High Anti-Corruption Court, will be presented on 9 January 2019 at 10 a.m. in Ukrainian Crisis Media Center (2 Khreshchatyk Street).

The High Anti-Corruption Court will start working after at least 35 judges are appointed, including 10 Appeal Chamber judges. The cassation (repeat appeal) instance to HACC decisions is still the Supreme Court, namely the Cassation Criminal Court functioning as part of the Supreme Court.

As a reminder, in June 2018, the Verkhovna Rada adopted law No. 7440 on the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine, which will handle exclusively high-level corruption cases.

The post International Experts Have 30 Days to Veto Ineligible Candidates to the HACC first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

• Andrii Parubii, speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
• Hugues Mingarelli, EU Ambassador to Ukraine
• Artem Sytnyk, director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine
• Maksym Hryshchuk, first deputy head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office
• Stanislav Shchotka, deputy head of the High Qualification Commission of Judges
• Anton Yanchuk, head of the National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Obtained through Corruption and Other Crimes
  Algirdas Šemeta, business ombudsman of Ukraine
• Olena Sukmanova, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine
• Eka Tkeshelashvili, head of EU Anti-Corruption Initiative
• Maksym Nefiodov, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade
• Mykhailo Ivchenko, deputy mayor of Mariupol
• Denys Bihus, investigative journalist
• Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, chair of the board of TI Ukraine
• Iryna Bekeshkina, director of the Democratic Initiatives Foundation
• Ivan Presniakov, Anti-Corruption Expert USAID/ENGAGE Activity
• Andrii Borovyk, acting executive director of Transparency International Ukraine
• Vitalii Shabunin, chair of the board of Anti-Corruption Action Center
• Hanna Herasymchuk, head of UNIC Secretariat
• Denys Selin, deputy chair of the board of Hromadskyi Kontrol (Civic Control)

 
*This event has been developed and will be held by Transparency International Ukraine as part of the project implemented through the activity of USAID/ENGAGE financed by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact. The content of the event is the sole responsibility of Pact and its implementing partners and does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the U.S. Government.
*This event is held with the financial support of the European Union as part of the project “Enhancing the Role of Civil Society in Public Finance Oversight.” Its content is the sole responsibility of Transparency International Ukraine and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

The post Anti-Corruption Reforms to Be Analyzed at "De-Corruption of Ukraine" first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

Speakers:
Anton Yanchuk, Head of ARMA;
Vitaliy Ryznyk, Head of ARMA’s Department;
Manfreds Limantas, Sector manager, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption at the EU Delegation to Ukraine;
Artur Pidluzhny, Manager of the seized luxury cars;
Glib Kanevsky, Head of the Public Oversite Council of ARMA;
Katerina Ryzhenko Legal Advisor of Transparency International Ukraine.

In the second part of the event, guests will engage in an open discussion and informal dialogue with the speakers.

The event  starts at 18:00 (registration from 17:30), Yaroslavl lane, 1/3, Hub 4.0.
Registration: http://bit.ly/2Ecfpdc

The event was held with the financial support of the EU. The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of Transparency International Ukraine and does not necessarily reflect the position of the EU.

Transparency International Ukraine works with the National Agency within the project Enhancing the Role of Civil Society in Public Finance Oversight, financed by the European Union. The project aims at empowering civil society and journalists with effective anti-corruption, asset recovery and anti-money laundering tools to perform the public finance oversight, support the launch of Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) and to update the list of Politically Exposed Persons. Find out more at https://goo.gl/Jgr9ic

The post Asset Management: successes and challenges in ARMA’s work first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

The post Workshop | Electronic Services and Open Data: Vinnytsia's Experience first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

• Mykola Kostrytsia, Head of the economic development department,
• Dina Prokhorchuk, Chief Financial Officer,
• Iryna Kovalchuk, Head of Family Youth and Sports Department,
• Nina Ryabenko,  Head of Culture Department,  
• Borys Pakholiyk, Head of Public Utility City Development Agency of the Zhytomyr City Council.

 
The event is organized by the Transparent Cities program as part of the project Building Transparency in Ukrainian Cities, implemented with the support of UN Democracy Fund.

The post The Case of Zhytomyr: Dialogue with the Community as the Basis for an Effective Open City first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

• Iryna Bekeshkina – Director of Ilko Kucheriv “Democratic Initiatives” Foundation
• Yevhen Bystrytskyi – Head of Department of the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Executive Director of Renaissance Foundation (1998 – 2017)
• Oleksii Haran – Head of Research of Ilko Kucheriv “Democratic Initiatives” Foundation
• Oksana Kuziakiv –  Executive Director of Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting; Head of Centre for Contemporary Society Studies
• Yaroslav Yurchyshyn – Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine

Topics for consideration:

• Fifth anniversary of Maidan: evaluation of experts
• Maidan 2018: Maidan of transformation
• Political Maidan
• Maidan of economic reforms
• Maidan of civil society
• Maidan of international affairs

Please register at http://bit.ly/2ToDrWF 
 
The participants of the press conference will receive a press release “Fifth Anniversary of Maidan: Evaluation of Experts” with the results of the expert poll by Ilko Kucheriv “Democratic Initiatives” Foundation.

The post The Fifth Anniversary of Maidan: Victories and Defeats first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

The post Workshop “Lviv Case: Open Data, Dialog with the Community, Investment Attraction” first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

If these requirements are not met, it may undermine the international experts’ real influence s on the competition, and previous mistakes made in the course of selecting Supreme Court judges may occur once again.

According to the schedule announced by the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ)  of Ukraine, the six members of the PCIE were to be appointed by the end of October. Even though the candidates were nominated in mid-September, it took the HQCJ a month and a half to name the PCIE members, curtailing the time they would have to analyze the candidates.

At the same time, the conditions for the international experts’ full-scale participation in the competition have not yet been set. The procedure for the international experts and their translators to access the candidates’ full records has not been established.

Transparency in the competition for  the High Anti-Corruption Court has not been ensured either. As of today, the HQCJ has not defined clear criteria for assessing the candidates’ integrity. The current assessment methodology, regrettably, previously allowed candidates who could not explain the origins of their wealth and whose actions were recognized by the European Court of Human Rights as a violation of access to justice to be nominated and confirmed as Supreme Court judges. If this methodology remains in use for the High Anti-Corruption Court, it will render the final stage of the competition opaque and its results subject to manipulation.

In this situation, the international experts will not be able to play a crucial role in the selection of anti-corruption judges. Instead, corrupt elites will be able to nominate candidates they are comfortable with for  the High Anti-Corruption Court.

We urge the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine to take the following steps to ensure an independent competition for the High Anti-Corruption Court:

1. Provide the PCIE members and its secretariat with full access to information on each candidate, including personal data from their profiles and data from public registers.

The status of an auxiliary agency under the HQCJ, stipulated by the Law on the High Anti-Corruption Court, grants the PCIE access to the same scope of information that is available to the Commission. Therefore, the PCIE must be given full access to each of the candidates’ personal information.

It would be unacceptable for candidates to grant or deny the PCIE access to their personal data at their own discretion. This would enable candidates to avoid having their eligibility verified by the PCIE.

The PCIE’s access to open public registers is directly provided by the law. Since arranging  separate access may require too much time, the HQCJ must share their access to registers with the PCIE members. It is also essential for the this access to be granted to the PCIE secretariat for the purposes of translation, so that the PCIE can perform its functions.

2. Provide the PCIE and its secretariat with access to practical assignments completed by the candidates in the course of their examination.

According to the law, the PCIE must assess not only the candidates’ integrity, but also their professionalism. What is more, the PCIE must assess their professionalism independently of the HQCJ’S evaluation.

This function cannot be performed if the PCIE does not have access to the practical assignments completed by the candidates as part of their examination.

We emphasize that the law does not restrict the Commission in the publication of the examination’s components and results. Thus, the HQCJ has the capacity to grant the PCIE access to the candidates’ practical assignments on its own accord.

Likewise, the PCIE’s access to candidates’ practical assignments cannot be granted or denied by the candidates themselves, since the PCIE’s analysis is an integral part of the competition.

3. Define clear criteria for candidates’ integrity as well as the standard of proof for candidates’ compliance or failure to comply with these criteria.

Currently, the HQCJ is promoting a subjective definition of integrity for the potential judges, which leaves a lot of room for manipulation. Unfortunately, because of this approach, Supreme Court candidates with negative verdicts from the Public Integrity Council received high scores for integrity, while whistleblower judges received much lower scores.

The HQCJ must develop and publish integrity criteria that should be based on the Bangalore Principles on Judicial Conduct approved by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

That being said, the HQCJ also believes that a candidate can be considered dishonest only if his or her fault is proven, which means that criminal standards are applied where an individual is entitled to the presumption of innocence., This approach, however, is unacceptable when it comes to the selection of candidates for positions where public trust is crucial.

Instead, it should be established that reasonable doubt regarding  a candidate’s integrity should constitute sufficient reason to reject the candidate from the Anti-Corruption Court, and the burden to prove the opposite should be placed on the candidate himself or herself.

4. Change the methodology of candidates’ assessment in favor of objective indicators.

The current assessment methodology allows the HQCJ to select winners at their own discretion from the remaining candidates following the PCIE “filter.”. It is the HQCJ that compiles the final ratings of candidates and is responsible for choosing the best candidates.

Yet, as of now, the Commission members can give 79% of the maximum score to candidates at their own discretion. Only 210 points out of the maximum score of 1000 points account for the judges’ examination results. The HQCJ methodology, which should make the remaining 790 points clear and understandable for the public, does nothing to clarify the situation and enables manipulation.

The HQCJ must change the assessment methodology, including both the examination results and the integrity evaluation in the final score.

5. Ensure that the scores given by each HQCJ member to each candidate based on each assessment criterion and the explanation of every score are published.

Currently, the HQCJ clarifies its decisions by simply providing the total scores of each candidate, as well as their total score for professionalism, integrity and professional ethics. The HQCJ does not explain the scores they give to candidates, nor does it show the individual score given by each of the Commission members. Moreover, the Supreme Court of Ukraine has recently recognized the HQCJ’s decision on the qualification assessment of one judge illegal, since the decision did not contain enough rationale. The practice of unfounded decisions should be over.

If the High Qualification Commission of Judges neglects these requirements, it means it intentionally leaves room for the results of the competition for the High Anti-Corruption Court to be manipulated.

As a result, the independence of the Anti-Corruption Court from political influence may well be challenged even before its creation. We urge the HQCJ to ensure the independence of the Anti-Corruption Court, proper conditions for the international experts’ work and overall transparency in the selection of anti-corruption judges.

The post Credibility of High Anti-Corruption Court Is Impossible Without Transparent Competition first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

Procurement analysis is required in the following oblasts: Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Ivano-Frakivsk, Zakarpattia and Lviv.

The project includes analysis (monitoring) of procurement labeled CPV 33600000-6 Pharmaceutical Products with the use of DOZORRO intelligence tools. The procurement must be analyzed for compliance with the current legislation. Based on the results, letters and reports to procuring entities, their management and competent supervisory and law enforcement agencies must be prepared.

You are welcome to participate in the project if you:

• have sufficient knowledge in public procurement and relevant legislation
• have experience with project management and establishment of collaboration with partners
• understand the work of procuring entities and participants of the public procurement process as well as activity of public agencies which control procurement
• are capable of fulfilling tasks, setting priorities and meeting objectives of the project
• are interested in making the public procurement process more effective, competitive and open

The project duration is 10 months (until 30 September 2019 incl.)

Services provided as part of the project are remunerated on a monthly basis.

To apply, fill in the Google Form: https://goo.gl/forms/BpOCg19nNBQW6Q3w2.

Application deadline: November 16, 2018.

The post Activists Wanted for Medical Procurement Monitoring first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

The post Seized Asset Management: Preserve, Increase, Recover first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

The Ukrainian chapter of the global anti-corruption network Transparency International invites you to attend the presentation of the transparency ranking of the 100 biggest Ukrainian cities and of the investment sector, which was developed by the Transparent Cities team. On November 12, at 10 a.m., Nizhyn residents will find out how many points their city has received and how to rise in the ranking.

The event will be held on November 12 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the building of Nizhyn City Council (Nizhyn, 1 Ivan Franko Square). Registration is obligatory at: http://bit.ly/2OkPxMB

During the presentation Nizhyn residents will find out:

– How transparent is the city in each of the 13 spheres of Ranking of the of 100 biggest -Ukrainian cities and what benefits do residents will receive from it?

-Is local government really business friendly?

-Which cities are among the outsiders of the transparency ranking of the investment sector?

-What opportunities are open to cities in the upper part of the ranking and why increasing transparency in the investment area can help not only to attract business to Ukrainian cities but also to fight corruption?

Speakers of the event:

Anatolii Lynnyk – Mayor of Nizhyn;

Alex Dorogan – Operational Director of BRDO;

Andriana Haponiuk – Project Manager on Cooperation with NGOs of ProZorro.Sales;

Anatolii Kotov – Project Coordinator of “From transparency of the investment sector to elimination of corruption risks” with Transparency International  Ukraine;

Kateryna Tsybenko – Transparent Cities Program Manager.

A representative of the business in Nizhyn will be present at the event as well.

To attend the event, registration is obligatory:  http://bit.ly/2OkPxMB .

Deadline: November 9, 2018.

Point of contact: Anatolii Kotov,  kotov@ti-ukraine.org, phone: 0973984638

The project ‘Transparency and Integrity of the Public Sector’ is implemented in cooperation with UNDP Ukraine with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark during 2015-2018.

Ideas, conclusions or recommendations expressed herein belong to the authors and editors of this publication and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, United Nations Development Program or other Agencies of the United Nations.

The post Transparency of Local Authorities and Investment Sector: Nizhyn first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

Accreditation: ryzhenko@ti-ukraine.org, +38 097 192 32 54

Time and location: 9:00, 178 Pryvokzalna street, Novoyarivsk (main entrance to the plant).

Point of contact during the tour: Andrii Potiomkin, +38 068 386 89 00

As a reminder, there is a critical situation with the heating season in Novoyarivsk and Novyi Rozdil. Owners of the local seized heat and power plants obstruct the state-appointed Manager. Among other things, they have dismounted the equipment, destroyed the technical documentation and deceived the personnel, who stopped going to work. Representatives of the owners (the beneficiaries are MPs Bohdan and Yaroslav Dubnevych) sent false information to the National Police and the citizens. They called the lawful transfer of the facilities to the Manager an “illegal takeover” and encourage local citizens to protest.

In 2016, the NABU discovered a scheme in which the heat and power plants sold gas purchased from the government for “discount” prices allegedly for the needs of the population at a market price. Over just two years, the scheme made the MPs’ companies UAH 1.4 billion richer.

This publication has been prepared with the financial support of the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of Transparency International Ukraine and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

The post MEDIA TOUR | Resisting Sabotage of Heat and Power Plants Owners first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

The participants will discuss anti-corruption in public procurement, the evolution of DOZORRO and plans for 2019, the current challenges faced by ProZorro as well as further steps in the public procurement reform.

At the event, a new electronic assistant – DOZORRO AI – will be presented as well. This program is capable of learning. It will assess a set of risk factors and offer suspicious tenders to DOZORRO community activists for verification. Program developers will tell more about the concept and principles of this new version of the public procurement monitoring system.

Event participants: Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Executive Director of TI Ukraine, Maksym Nefiodov, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, Petro Matiaszek, head of the TAPAS project, Viktor Nestulia, a member of TI Ukraine, Ivan Lakhtionov, DOZORRO coordinator, Andrii Kucherenko, DOZORRO product manager, and Volodymyr Flionts, DOZORRO website architect.

Follow the news in the Facebook  event.

The new functionality was made possible by the support of Omidyar Network, Open Contracting Partnership and the project Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services (USAID, UKaid, Eurasia Foundation), EBRD. 

The community of civic inspectors of public tenders coordinated by Transparency International Ukraine started working in the spring of 2017, and the DOZORRO monitoring portal was launched on 1 November 2016.

The post DOZORRO to Reflect On Two Years of Procurement Monitoring first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

At the event, we will share how transparency benefits the city council and the city. We will dwell on the mechanisms for ensuring effective work of municipal enterprises, social services and housing policy. We will also speak about engagement of the community to the budgeting process and overcoming the conflict of interest in the city council.

The event will take place on November 5-6 at 4 Peremohy square, Shevchenko Palace of Culture. The check-in starts at 9 a.m.

Prior registration is mandatory via https://goo.gl/forms/jjrnxhZY7ySGVYbb2 .

Registration deadline is November 2.

The post Moving Up the City Transparency Ranking. Workshop in Melitopol first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.