Not surprisingly, there have been numerous attempts by Ukrainian politicians to weaken the law. In the last year, there have been at least six attempts to dilute the law. Just as the e-declaration system was set to launch on August 15, the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection in Ukraine (SSSCIP) torpedoed the launch by refusing to provide the “information security certificate” for the e-declaration software package. This certificate is required for public officials to face criminal liability if they provide false information in their declarations.
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Josh Cohen: Ukraine’s signature transparency initiative comes under fire again
In October 2014, Ukraine's parliament passed a law requiring all public officials to file an electronic declaration disclosing their assets. The law requires the identification of assets directly held by officials, as well as those held by family members, which means officials can no longer hide illegally obtained assets in the names of family members. To give the law some teeth, it makes public officials criminally liable for false information.
