The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has submitted a draft law on the basis of the state anticorruption policy in Ukraine (the anticorruption strategy) for 2014-2017.
Draft law No. 4284A was posted on the Web site of the Ukrainian parliament on Monday, July 14.
According to the anticorruption strategy, Ukraine is fulfilling its
international liabilities on the introduction of anticorruption
standards unsatisfactorily. According to the document, the national
anticorruption strategy for 2011-2015 approved by an order of the
president in October 2011 was not an efficient instrument of
anticorruption policy.
“Thus, one can say that today there is no efficient strategy for
fighting corruption in Ukraine that would take into account the
acuteness of the problem and the present situation,” reads the document.
“Taking into account the above-mentioned facts, a new strategic
document is to be approved, which would define the top-priority measures
to prevent and fight corruption and create the basis for the further
conducting of reform in the area,” reads the document.
One of the goals of the anticorruption strategy is the creation of a
decision-making system for anticorruption policy in Ukraine on the basis
of the results of analysis of true data on corruption and factors that
lead to it.
The document foresees the creation of a special authorized agency to
fight corruption, which will be responsible for taking measures to form
and implement anticorruption policy.
In addition, the document foresees the creation of a transparent
basis for financing the elections, the operation of political parties,
the removal of corruption risks in the operation of election agencies
and toughening of public control over their operation.
According to the conclusions of the Venice Commission, amendments to
the election laws are to be made, under which the regulation of
financing of election campaigns will be unified and the requirements to
the transparent current financing of parties will be determined.
The strategy foresees the legislative recognition of the legal basis
for lobbying for a legal democratic way of cooperation between the civil
society and the state, governed by the rule of law, and defining the
legal forms and ways of lobbying.
The laws on the state service and on the service in local government agencies are to be drawn up and amended.
“Simultaneously with the reform of the state service system, the
problem of a conflict of interests, transparency of incomes and expenses
of public clerks should be settled,” the document says.
A law on the protection of persons who inform about corruption cases
(whistleblowers) and a law on conducting tests of public clerks for
honesty are to be passed.
The strategy foresees the necessity of reforming the wage system for
public clerks, increasing the official rates of pay, taking into account
the rate of pay at similar posts in the private sector), canceling or
considerably restricting bonuses.
According to the document, the reformation of laws in the area of
state procurement will be continued, which is aimed at removing
corruption risks and introducing a transparent state procurement scheme.
In the section concerning the prevention of corruption in the court
system and criminal justice agencies, it is planned to amend the
Constitution of Ukraine and legal acts aimed at reforming the judicial
system and the status of judges and Prosecutor General’s Office on the
basis of European standards, taking into account the conclusions of the
Venice Commission.
The amendments, according to the strategy, foresee the restriction of
the judges’ immunity from prosecution, defining the specifics of
conducting tests of candidates for the posts of judges, publication and
monitoring of trustworthiness of declarations on incomes of judges and
the restriction of powers of Prosecutor General’s Office by the area of
criminal justice.
In addition, local police are to be created.
The anticorruption strategy sets a goal of removing corruption
preconditions for doing business, forming the business climate favorable
for the rejection of corrupt practices and the intolerant attitude of
business to corruption.
The focus is placed on the deregulation of the economy and supporting
free competition. It is planned to create the institution of business
ombudsman who will represent the interests of business in the
government.
The section concerning punishment for corruption foresees the
creation of an ad-hoc authorized agency for revealing and investigating
cases of corruption, along with amendments to the Criminal Code of
Ukraine that will define the notion of crimes of corruption and list
them.
The amendments to the Criminal Code are to make impossible the release on bail of persons who committed crimes of corruption.
