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Analysis of the Agenda of the Plenary Meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Due to Take Place on Thursday, February 4, 2021, from 10:00 to 15:00 (a total of 55 items)
1. Draft Law No. 1111 (D. Hetmantsev) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON FINANCIAL LEASING” – a new version of the Law “On Financial Leasing”; it defines “financial leasing” as a type of legal relations under which the lessor undertakes, in accordance with the financial leasing agreement, for the period and for the fee specified in such agreement, to transfer to the lessee’s possession and use a piece of property (object) belonging to the lessor under the right of ownership and acquired by the lessor without any prior arrangement with the lessee, or property deliberately purchased by the lessor from a seller (supplier) in accordance with the specifications and conditions established by the lessee; moreover, in such case at least one of the characteristics of financial leasing are required: (1) transfer for a period during which no less than 75% of the original value is depreciated (but for no less than 1 year), with the lessee’s commitment to purchase the object of financial leasing, with subsequent transfer to the lessee of the title to the object at the price determined by the contract; (2) the amount of lease payments at the time of conclusion of the contract is equal to or exceeds the initial value of the object; (3) the book (residual) value of the object at the point of termination of the contract is no more than 25% of the original value (price) of such object; and (4) the object was made to the lessee’s order and upon the expiry of the contract cannot be used by persons other than the lessee.
FOR (+) No. 1111: The bill strengthens the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of lessees and lessors; creation of a competitive environment and reduction of the cost of leasing services for lessees; creation of conditions for attracting real investment, renewal of fixed assets; approximating Ukrainian legislation to international legal standards.
AGAINST (–) No. 1111: no regulation for the procedure and conditions of temporary state registration of certain objects of financial leasing; cancellation of notarization of vehicle leasing agreements with the participation of an individual.
2. Draft Laws Nos. 4543 (Cabinet of Ministers), 4543-1 (N. Korolevska) (first reading; the Committee proposes that No. 4543 be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING SECTION V ‘FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS’ OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON PRIVATIZATION OF STATE AND MUNICIPAL PROPERTY’ REGARDING PRIVATIZATION OF LARGE PRIVATIZATION OBJECTS” – No. 4543 proposes removing the paragraph imposing a temporary ban – for the period of the quarantine and the restrictive measures to prevent the emergence and spread of COVID-19 – on the holding of auctions for the sale of large privatization objects.
FOR (+) No. 4543: The implementation of preparative, organizational measures prior to the sale of large privatization objects at auctions and the holding of auctions for the sale of such objects will contribute to increased business activities and attraction of investments to the economy of Ukraine; the revenues of the general fund of the State Budget will be increased and the fulfillment of the plan of revenues from privatization will be more likely to occur.
AGAINST (–) No. 4543: Sale of state-owned objects under conditions of the pandemic and the crisis will minimize their value.
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3. Draft Law 3450 (Committee recommends to adopt as a whole) ON AMENDMENTS TO CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UA REGARDING REGULATION OF CERTAIN ISSUES OF PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS – creates a single state portal of reports on corruption and improves the work of the NAPC on the protection of whistleblowers, enshrines their right to free legal aid, confidentiality and anonymity of reports, remuneration in cases specified by law, as well as psychological assistance.
FOR 3450 (+): creation of a single portal will save budget funds (the cost of deploying the portal in a single body (there are more than 80 total) can cost from 2 to 5 million UAH, as it will not be necessary to deploy each system in each government agency, a higher level of information protection, guarantee of anonymity.
AGAINST 3450 (-): budget expenditures for system deployment; unwillingness of NAPC staff, who are not practicing lawyers, to professionally represent whistleblowers in court.
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4. Draft Law No. 4531 (O. Korniyenko) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO RESUME THE HOLDING OF COMPETITIONS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE POSITIONS AND OTHER ISSUES OF PUBLIC SERVICE” – the bill resumes the holding of competitions for public service positions which were suspended in connection with measures aimed at preventing the emergence and spread of COVID-19; the new competitions will be announced: for positions of category A, within 4 months; and for positions of categories B and C, within 9 months from the day this Law takes effect; also, the bill revokes the possibility of dismissal of public servants of category A (the highest positions: heads of central executive bodies, state secretaries of Ministries, State Secretary and his/her Deputy in the Secretariat of the Government) on the initiative of the appointing entity, followed by 6 months of remaining in a non-staff capacity and payment of 6 fixed salaries (so-called “golden parachute”).
FOR (+) No. 4531: The transparency and objectivity provided for by competitions in the selection of public servants; the possibility to fill vacancies; the reduction of state spending on payments to dismissed public servants of category A positions; reduced staff turnover rate in public service.
AGAINST (–) No. 4531: The impossibility to replace highest public servants in the event of change of the Government and/or the content of state policy; holding competitions under quarantine conditions will increase the risk of spread of COVID-19; additional spending on sanitary and hygienic measures during the competitions.
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5. Draft Law No. 3489 (D. Monastyrskyi) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 91 OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON PUBLIC SERVICE’” – the bill confers the highest public service rank in the State Bureau of Investigations to the SBI Director and to Directors of the Territorial Departments of the SBI.
FOR (+) No. 3489: The bill regulates the exercise of the powers of highest- ranking public servant by the SBI Director, whose position is assigned to the category of positions that can only be occupied by highest-ranking public servants.
AGAINST (–) No. 3489: None.
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6. Draft Law No. 3318 (S. Cherniavskyi) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON VETERINARY MEDICINE AND WELLBEING OF ANIMALS” – amendments will be made to 15 Laws (four of them will only have their name changed to “On Veterinary Medicine and Wellbeing of Animals”); the bill envisages the development and adoption of 36 bylaws (CMU Resolutions: 6; Orders of Ministries: 30); determines the legal and organizational principles for performing activities in the spheres of ensuring the protection of animals’ health and wellbeing, veterinary practice, production and circulation of veterinary medicines and side products of animal origin; cancels the necessity to obtain 2 veterinary documents; reduces the timeframe for the issuance of veterinary documents from 30 days to 1 day; allows the issuance of documents and prescriptions in electronic form; introduces termless registration of veterinary medicines; strengthens liability for violations in the spheres of veterinary medicine and wellbeing of animals (as a matter of fact, there is no such liability at present and so no one abides by the established rules).
FOR (+) No. 3318: Systemic and comprehensive regulation of social relations relating to protection of the health of animals and ensuring their wellbeing, veterinary practice, production, circulation and use of veterinary medicines; introduction of the European model of defining animal diseases as notifiable; development of international trade – for Ukrainian exporters, manufacturers of veterinary medicines located in Ukraine (in the medium and long run); development of private veterinary practice in Ukraine.
AGAINST (-) No. 3318: The point of the coming into force of certain provisions of the Draft Law is made dependent of the adoption of a bylaw; the bill provides for the possibility to delegate authority to private parties; terms are used the content of which is not explained in the current legislation or in the Draft Law itself; the bill resolves issues referred by the Constitution to the jurisdiction of the Cabinet of Ministers; the text of the bill contains provisions typical of bylaws; evaluative notions and declarative provisions are used.
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7. Draft Law No. 4142 (M. Radutskyi) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis, with consideration for the Committee’s Opinion of February 3, 2021) “ON THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM” – the bill proposes a determination of the legal, organizational, economic and social principles of the functioning of the system for disease prevention, preservation and strengthening of public health, creation and implementation of a unified system of preventive medicine, specifying the principles, tasks, mechanisms and timeframes for developing a system under which regional centers will operate in each oblast (with partial renewal of the functions which, after the liquidation of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service, were chaotically assigned to various successor bodies); this Law is intended as a substitute for the Laws “On Ensuring the Sanitary and Epidemiological Well- Being of the Population” and “On Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases.” The issue of vaccination is outside the scope of this bill.
FOR (+) No. 4142: Establishment of European approaches to conducting epidemiological surveillance – the latter will also cover noninfectious diseases, which cause 86% of deaths in Ukraine each year; regulation of a set of measures to protect the country from biological threats – primarily dangerous infectious diseases.
AGAINST (–) No. 4142: Revoking the mandatory status of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Examination and the State Sanitary and Hygienic Examination of projects of economic, investment and other activities can lead to a negative impact on the state of sources and systems of drinkable water supply and on protection of atmospheric air.
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8. Draft Law 2329 (1st reading, the Committee recommends to adopt as a basis) ON AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW OF UA "ON ENSURING THE RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS" REGARDING THE RELEASE OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS FROM THE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO MAKE MONEY OBLIGATIONS – establishes that the total amount of interest under credit / loan agreements in which the debtors are internally displaced persons (hereinafter referred to as IDPs) may not exceed the amount of interest accrued before the maturity of the principal obligation; exempts IDPs from penalties (fines, penalties) and taking into account the inflation index and other financial sanctions for the period of delay in fulfilling the obligation.
FOR 2329 (+): reducing the financial burden on IDPs and protecting them from the negative effects of forced relocation due to armed conflict.
AGAINST 2329(-): losses from non-compliance of IDPs with their obligations to the banking system; lack of any compensators for business entities; declarativeness of the law and its contradiction to the civil, economic, financial legislation; linking the date (April 14, 2014 – the beginning of the anti-terrorist operation in Donbas) to the attribution of persons to IDPs does not take into account the interests of migrants from the annexed Crimea.
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9. Draft Law No. 3131-д (M. Zablotskyi) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE TAX CODE OF UKRAINE AND OTHER LAWS OF UKRAINE ON DE-SHADOWING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION” – the bill changes the mechanism of taxation of the incomes of legal entities and individuals – owners and users of plots of land of agricultural purpose by establishing a fixed tax obligation (FTO), which provides for a level of tax payment from income derived from the use of such plots that may not be lower than the minimum calculated tax on income derived by the owners (users) from each hectare. The FTO is the minimum amount with which paid taxes are compared: the profit tax, the salary-based income tax, the income tax from lease of shares, the land tax, the unified tax, and the unified social contribution. The FTO will be required to be paid if the total amount paid taxes and fees related to agricultural production on such plots of land does not exceed 4.5 percent of the annual normative monetary value (NMV) (but no more than the average value in the oblast) of these plots (this amounts to 1,300 – 1,400 UAH per hectare per year). The FTO will be used from January 1, 2022 (for 2021); categories of persons exempted from the tax include individuals owning household plots, garden plots, summer cottage (“dacha”) plots, personal peasant holdings up to 1 hectare, as well as those who have leased out their land. Family farms: a 2-year transitional period at a taxation rate of 0%; in subsequent years, a reduced rate of 2%; pastures, vegetable gardens: 1%. The FTO will be increased gradually: in 2022 for 2021, 3%; in 2023 for 2022, 3.5%; in 2024 for 2023, 4%.
FOR (+) No. 3131д: The FTO is not a new tax; the amount to be paid will be the difference between the sum of FTO and the sum of taxes and other payments paid by the individual that are related to the production and sale of the individual’s own agricultural production and lease; the taxation of areas in excess of 8 million hectares of agricultural lands claimed to be cultivated individually but in reality being on “shadow” lease will bring more than 10 billion UAH to budgets; protection of “non-shadow” farms paying all the taxes; during the assessment of a family’s right to subsidy its income will include revenues from the sale of own agricultural products if the annual amount of such revenues exceeds 50 times the minimum salary as of January 1 of the current year.
AGAINST (–) No. 3131д: Increasing the tax burden on small farms, personal peasant holdings, and individuals; more complicated process of calculation; disregard for the seasonal specifics of agricultural production and dependence on weather and biological factors, which leads to losses; depriving individual peasants of the right to subsidies, privileges and other social benefits.
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10. Draft Law No. 4355 (M. Kriachko) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE UNIFIED STATE DEMOGRAPHIC REGISTER AND DOCUMENTS CERTIFYING CITIZENSHIP OF UKRAINE, a person’s identity or special status” – the bill fixes at the level of a Law the definitions of the terms e-passport, e-passport for travel abroad; it establishes that an e-passport or an e-passport for travel abroad is issued for free at the respective person’s request and can be presented in the territory of Ukraine to certify identity and confirm citizenship, except in cases of crossing the state border or entering / leaving the occupied territory of Ukraine.
FOR (+) No. 4355: Extension of user-friendly paper-free services available through the mobile application of the Diia Portal; entrenchment in a Law and extension after 2021 on a permanent basis of the experimental project envisaged by a Government resolution and already used by about 5 million people.
AGAINST (–) No. 4355: The impossibility to use e-passports in cases of crossing the state border and entering or leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine; usage problems in no-Internet situations or lack of special equipment or reading software; it is not specified how the state bodies entrusted with verification of e-passports will carry it out.
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11. Draft Law No. 2680 (O. Shuliak) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO OPTIMIZE ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVE LEGISLATION IN THE SPHERE OF URBAN CONSTRUCTION” – simplification of the procedure for obtaining the right to perform construction work involving reconstruction and repair of roads; cancellation of the requirement for approval of the project documentation by the chief architect; improving the procedure for providing administrative services in the sphere of construction and creating a Unified State Electronic System in the sphere of construction.
FOR (+) No. 2680: Elimination of inconsistencies between provisions of legislative acts; more intensive repair of existing automobile roads and construction of new ones; increase in the number of jobs, attraction of new investments.
AGAINST (–) No. 2680: The bill replaces the necessity for obtaining a permit to perform construction work involving reconstruction / total repair of automobile roads with the duty to report on such works. However, liability for performing construction work on such objects without obtaining a permit remains in force (Article 96 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses). Therefore, it is necessary to make relevant changes to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (pursuant to Article 2 of that Code of Ukraine, such changes must be made by adopting a separate Law).
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12. Draft Law No. 4203 (O. Bakumov) (second reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE NATIONAL POLICE’ (REGARDING SECONDMENT OF POLICE OFFICERS TO BODIES OF STATE AUTHORITY, ENTERPRISES, INSTITUTIONS, ORGANIZATIONS, INSTITUTES OF HIGHER EDUCATION WITH SPECIFIC STUDYING CONDITIONS AND ASSIGNING SPECIAL RANKS TO SECONDED (ATTACHED) POLICE OFFICERS” – the bill regulates issues related to performance of service by police officers seconded to bodies of state authority, enterprises, institutions and organizations,; the next special rank will be assigned in the event of correspondence of the officer’s position in the institute of higher education to the maximum special rank; up to and including the special rank “Police Colonel,” the rank will be assigned by the rector (principal) of such institute of higher education; “Police Colonel,” by the Chief of Police, based on a submission from the rector (principal) of such institute of higher education; and a senior police rank, by the President of Ukraine, based on a submission from the Minister of Internal Affairs.
FOR (+) No. 4203: Strengthening the role of principals of educational institutes in the process of engaging qualified teachers from among police officers; assigning special ranks to education institute teachers as an additional incentive for switching to an academic career.
AGAINST (–) No. 4203: Lack of consistency between the texts of amendments to Articles 80 and 83 of the Law of Ukraine “On the National Police”; different terms of labor incentives for ordinary teachers vs. seconded police officers; the possibility that the law will apply to some institutes that are not directly related to police activities.
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13. Draft Law No. 3010а (Cabinet of Ministers) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 47-1 OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON EMPLOYMENT OF THE POPULATION’ TO PROVIDE PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT AID FOR THE PERIOD OF THE QUARANTINE IMPOSED BY THE CABINET OF MINISTERS OF UKRAINE FOR PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS INFECTIOUS DISEASES” – the bill provides for the payment of partial unemployment aid for the quarantine period not only during the period of the quarantine aimed at preventing the spread in the territory of Ukraine of the acute respiratory disease COVID-19, but also when similar restrictions are established in connection with other diseases in the future, as well as in the period of a state of emergency declared by the Government; the Cabinet of Ministers will be empowered to determine the procedure for provision of the aid, its size, timeframe, as well as the procedure for recovery of funds allocated for such aid.
FOR (+) No. 3010: Expansion of the range of cases in which partial unemployment aid is provided.
AGAINST (–) No. 3010: No regulation of the issue of providing partial unemployment aid to employees staying idle or being on unpaid leave; incoherence of the norms regarding recovery of the aid.
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14. Draft Law No. 4051 (H. Tretiakova) (2st reading, Committee Opinion still unavailable, though its meeting was held on September 28) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS TO IMPROVE LEGAL REGULATION OF REMOTE WORK” – the bill demarcates the concepts and legal regulation of flexible working mode, remote work, and work at home; details are provided for the employer’s obligations to familiarize the employee with whom a remote work contract has been concluded with the internal work regulations, collective employment agreement, the employer’s local normative acts, reports and other relevant documents; grounds are specified for the introduction of flexible working hours, etc.
FOR (+) 4051: clear regulation of the issue of remote work; creation of legal mechanisms for protection of employees during remote work; ensuring the right to recreation.
AGAINST (-) 4051: complete autonomy of employees poses the threat of increase in the number of failures in operation of enterprise; negative impact on the financial results of companies.
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15. Draft Law 3817 (2st reading, the Committee recommends to adopt as a basis) ON AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW OF UA "ON COMPENSATION TO CITIZENS LOSS OF PART OF INCOME IN CONNECTION WITH VIOLATION OF TERMS OF THEIR PAYMENT" – the list of cash incomes of citizens is determined, in case of delay of which for one or more calendar months, compensation will be paid, namely: pensions or monthly lifetime allowance, social benefits, scholarships, wages (cash security), the amount of indexation of cash incomes.
FOR (+): increase in income of persons whose salary is delayed; an exhaustive list of payments prevents corruption; elimination of possible abuses of social benefits.
AGAINST (-): compensation will be paid from the Pension Fund, the Social Insurance Fund, the Unemployment Fund, and other special-purpose social funds; payment as compensation is absent in the lists of types of material support and social services for the relevant types of insurance provided by the relevant funds.
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16. Draft Law No. 3761 (President) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING SECTION XX ‘TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS’ FO THE TAX CODE OF UKRAINE REGARDING THE SPECIFICS OF TAXATION OF ECONOMIC SUBJECTS IMPLEMENTING INVESTMENT PROJECTS WITH SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS” – the bill provides for tax privileges until January 1, 2035, for “an investor with significant investments who is a party to a special investment agreement”: VAT will not apply to transactions of import of certain goods; there will be profit tax exemption for a period of 5 years (but not in excess of the size of the state support provided for by the respective special investment agreement); also, local self-government bodies will have the right to establish lower land tax rates and rates of rent or to exempt investors from the land tax.
FOR (+) No. 3761: Draft Law No. 3761 is related in a systematic way and is a derivative of Draft Law No. 3760, which has already been adopted; the latter bill specifies the organizational, legal and financial principles of state support for investment projects with significant investments (30+ million Euro, 150+ jobs, 115+ percent of the average salary in the sector/region; state support not exceeding 30% of the invested amount; implementation period of up to 5 years); establishes the status of state institution with special managers – “investment nannies”; incentives for attracting foreign investments.
AGAINST (–) No. 3761: Decreased State Budget revenues; deterioration of the condition of national manufacturers in relation to foreign investors.
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17. Draft Law No. 3762 (President) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING SECTION XXI ‘FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS’ OF THE CUSTOMS CODE OF UKRAINE” – the bill provides for exemption, in 2021-2035, from the customs duty for equipment (manufactured no more than 3 years ago) required for implementing an investment project with significant investments under a special investment agreement.
FOR (+) No. 3762: Analogous to the strengths of the above-reviewed Draft Law No. 3761;
AGAINST (–) No. 3762: Analogous to the weaknesses of the above-reviewed Draft Law No. 3761.
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18. Draft Law No.4118 (O. Fediyenko) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON ACCESS TO OBJECTS OF CONSTRUCTION, TRANSPORT, ELECTRIC POWER ENGINEERING FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEVELOPING TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS’ AND OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE RELATED TO DEVELOPMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS” – regulation of juridical, economic, entrepreneurial legal relations and organizational principles of providing access to the infrastructure of objects of construction, transport and electric power engineering; introduction of a single center of access (register) to information on access objects; non- discrimination in providing customers with access to the infrastructure of the access object; prohibiting the owner from demanding that the customer enter into any agreement (on lease, easement, etc.) other than the access agreement; improving the mechanism for establishing the amount of periodic payments for access to infrastructure elements.
FOR (+) No. 4118: Deployment in Ukraine of high-speed electronic communication networks; preventing a rise in the cost of communication services for customers.
AGAINST (–) No. 4118: Violation of legal equality of participants in legal and proprietary relations; guaranteeing the rights of operators and providers of electronic communication services, in defiance of the rights of the owners (possessors) of the infrastructure of the object of construction, transport, or electric power engineering, condominiums, etc.; expanding the powers of the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization by empowering it to develop and approve methodological recommendations for determining the amount of damage caused to operators or providers as well as to conduct out-of-court settlement of disputes related to access.
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19. Draft Law No. 0958 (O. Poroshenko – 8th convocation MP) (second reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO PREVENT EXCESSIVE PRESSURE ON ECONOMIC SUBJECTS FROM MEASURES OF STATE OVERSIGHT (CONTROL) OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE LEGISLATION ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT OF THE POPULATION” – the bill deprives local self-government bodies of the power to carry out audits of enterprises’ compliance with the legislation on labor and employment of the population (they will only have the power to initiate such audits); it establishes administrative liability of officials of bodies of state oversight (control) for issuing orders, ordinances, decisions to impose financial sanctions if they are revoked in an administrative or judicial proceeding.
FOR (+) No. 0958: Decreased administrative pressure and financial load on business; determination of the deadlines for imposing financial sanctions for violating the legislation on labor and employment of the population; decreased possibilities for abuse of power in respect of economic subjects by oversight bodies.
AGAINST (-) No. 0958: Certain provisions are no longer relevant, since penalties for violating the labor legislation have already been decreased; fewer possibilities for detecting violations and protecting hired workers.
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20. Draft Law No. 3623 (Cabinet of Ministers) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE ON REGISTERING AN EMPLOYEE’S LABOR ACTIVITIES IN ELECTRONIC FORM” – the labor activities of employees and the social dues paid by them will no longer be registered on paper; this will be done only in electronic form – in the Register of Insured Persons within the State Register of Social Insurance. A 5-year transitional period is established for entering in the State Register of information from paper work-record books. The scanning and digitizing of copies of work-record books and references will be performed by the employee and the employer, with mandatory imposition of a qualified electronic signature. The original paper work-record book will be returned to the employee after all information from the book has been entered in the State Register.
FOR (+) No. 3623: The digitizing of labor record registration; the impossibility to forge work-record books and to manipulate the length of service and the sizes of salaries; automatic award of pension and determination of the most advantageous option; an individual’s right to increased pension as a result of delayed retirement; no negative consequences of losing the work-record book.
AGAINST (-) No. 3623: The employer will also have to enter information on admission to job, transfer to another position, and removal from job in paper work-record cards upon request from the respective employees; no reliable cyber protection of a large volume of data containing confidential information and personal data; impossibility for an employee to oversee the correctness of the entry of his/her data in the Register.
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21. Draft Law No. 4361 (I. Friz) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON PUBLIC SERVICE’ TO EXPAND THE RANGE OF PERSONS WHO CAN APPLY FOR PUBLIC SERVICE POSITIONS” – the bill expands the range of persons who can apply for public service – this is achieved by including work as a lawyer, notary, or court- appointed manager in the general requirements for length of service (including administrative service) in positions of public service categories A, B, and C.
FOR (+) No. 4361: Provision of access to public service for categories of citizens meeting high qualification requirements.
AGAINST (-) No. 4361: The activities of lawyers, notaries, court-appointed managers are not related to managing large collectives; therefore a person performing such activities cannot be regarded as a priori having managerial skills; the specific character of the activities of notaries, lawyers, court- appointed managers in not quite in line with the type of work performed by the holders of positions of public service categories A and B.
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22. Draft Laws Nos. 4147 (O. Koval) and 4147-1 (Y. Hryshyna) (first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 4147 be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS SYSTEM” – No. 4147 regulates the issues of formation, assessment and assignment of professional qualifications, the relationship between a person’s working conditions and professional qualifications, the development and introduction of professional standards, the formation of the Register of Occupations and Qualifications; rules out the participation of the State Employment Service in organizing verification of informal education; regulates the activities of Sectoral Councils in developing professional standards, etc.
FOR (+) No. 4147: the bill will make it possible to build an effective labor market management system and contribute to reducing unemployment; create a high-quality qualifications system for objective assessment of the quality of human capital, which will provide everyone with the right to work and a decent reward; stimulate citizens to engage in continuous professional development and lifelong self-education.
AGAINST (-) No. 4147: Changing the procedure for confirming the assessment and assignment of professional qualifications, assessing the results of informal vocational training of persons in working professions, etc., will lead to higher labor migration; increased spending from the State Budget and local budgets; terminological inconsistency of the project with the current legislation.
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23. Draft Law No. 4184 (D. Hetmantsev) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE TAX CODE OF UKRAINE TO CANCEL TAXATION OF INCOMES RECEIVED BY NONRESIDENTS IN THE FORM OF PAYMENT FOR THE PRODUCTION AND/OR DISTRIBUTION OF ADVERTISEMENTS AND TO IMPROVE THE PROCEDURE FOR IMPOSING VALUE-ADDED TAX ON TRANSACTIONS OF PROVISION BY NONRESIDENTS OF ELECTRONIC SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS” – the bill cancels taxation of nonresidents’ incomes in the form of payments for advertisements; improves the procedure of imposing the VAT on transactions of provision by nonresidents of electronic services to individuals in the customs territory of Ukraine; defines the concept of “electronic services” and specifies the place of their provision; establishes the specifics of registration of a nonresident as a taxpayer, determines the taxation basis, the timeframes for paying the taxes, for submitting tax reports, for challenging decisions of regulatory authorities; provides for the payment of a tax liability by a nonresident in foreign currency, the simplified procedure for registration of a nonresident VAT payer (remote registration is possible); nonresidents are exempt from the obligation to register tax invoices.
FOR (+) No. 4184: Involving nonresidents providing electronic services to individuals in value-added taxation; administering the payment of the tax is not burdensome for business and the state and nonresidents are exempt from the obligation to draw up tax invoices and register them in the Unified Register; VAT-related increase in State Budget revenues.
AGAINST (-) No. 4184: Noncompliance with the current legislation of the proposal to pay the VAT in foreign currency; ambiguity and confusion when using the terms “electronic resources,” “cloud technologies”; the “virtual registration” of nonresidents will make it harder to administer the tax and create conditions for VAT evasion; the creation of the electronic service “VAT for individual nonresidents” will require additional Budget spending.
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24. Draft Law No. 4318 (Y. Kravchuk) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON CULTURE’ REGARDING THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR PROVIDING CULTURAL SERVICES TO THE POPULATION” – the bill is aimed at forming an effective system of guaranteeing observance of the cultural rights and needs of the population for receiving quality and accessible cultural services; determines the priorities of the state cultural policy, the powers of public authorities; a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of state policy in the sphere of culture and arts is introduced; minimum standards for providing the population with cultural services are determined; and the regulation of the financial and economic activities of cultural institutions is changed.
FOR (+) No. 4318: The modernization of the cultural infrastructure will improve the provision of quality and accessible cultural and artistic services to the population and contribute to aesthetic education of citizens, especially children and youth; strengthening the protection of cultural heritage and cultural values; preservation, reproduction and protection of the historical environment.
AGAINST (-) No. 4318: The reorganization may lead to the closing of some clubs, libraries and other cultural institutions and to reduction of their numbers; the risk of rising costs of services; inconsistency of actions and “competition of powers” in the sphere of guaranteeing observance of the population’s cultural rights and needs between local self-government bodies and local state executive bodies; additional spending from the Budget.
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25. Draft Law No. 3969 (Z. Andriyovych) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE WATER CODE OF UKRAINE TO ADJUST THE LIST OF PRIMARY WATER USERS” – it is proposed that the list of primary water users should include persons having their own water collecting facilities/equipment and receiving water from canals, reservoirs / water economy systems, water pipes of interbasin and intrabasin redistribution of water resources; it is proposed that such persons be obliged to conclude water supply contracts with asset-holding enterprises or with enterprises providing for transfer of water to regions with little water.
FOR (+) No. 3969: Mandatory conclusion of economic agreements by primary water users; increased funding of such asset holders and, as a consequence, improved material basis of water-supplying enterprises.
AGAINST (-) No. 3969: The bill aims at aligning the legislation with the respective CMU Resolution, while it must be the other way round: bylaws must be aligned with laws: the bill does not take into account the situation when the asset holder and the entity providing for transfer of water to areas with little water are different legal entities – it is unclear with whom the agreement must be concluded.
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26. Draft Laws Nos. 3950 (Cabinet of Ministers) and 3950-1 (N. Korolevska) (first reading; the Committee proposes that No. 3950 be adopted as a basis) – “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 121 OF THE CODE OF CIVIL PROTECTION OF UKRAINE” – the bill proposes compensation for the death of a civil protection employee occurring not only in the course of duty but also at any other time during the period of the employee’s civil service.
FOR (+) No. 3950: Social protection of the families of the dead employees; lowering the financial burdens on such families.
AGAINST (-) No. 3950: Additional spending from the State Budget.
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27. Draft Law No. 4259 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 16 OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON PROTECTION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR’ TO REGULATE ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES INVOLVING OZONE DEPLETING SUBSTANCES AND FLUORINATED GREENHOUSE GASES” – the bill determines the legal and organizational principles for regulating relations in the sphere of handling controlled substances the use of which affects the ozone layer and climate change as well as handling products containing such substances.
FOR (+) No. 4259: Potentially, gradual reduction of the use of substances affecting climate change, fulfillment by Ukraine of its international obligations.
AGAINST (-) No. 4259: Failure to refer the Law “On Regulating Economic Activities Involving Ozone Depleting Substances and Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases” to the category of legislation on protection of atmospheric air.
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28. Draft Law No. 4221 (H. Lichman) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON SELF-REGULATION OF ECONOMIC AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES” – the bill establishes the general principles of self-regulation of economic and professional activities which is performed through self-regulating organizations, determines the legal status of such organizations, the principles and procedure for their formation and operation, the foundations of state regulation and state control; establishes a framework for the delegation to self-regulatory organizations of certain powers (functions) of public authorities and local self-government bodies in charge of regulating economic and professional activities.
FOR (+) No. 4221: The application of European practice will be conducive to economic activities, promote the creation of reputational benefits and the formation of consumers’ confidence in economic subjects and in subjects of professional activities, in the quality of products, works or services; promoting the entry of Ukrainian manufacturers into international SROs; improving the state’s investment attractiveness, business climate and competitiveness; reduction of administrative pressure on business.
AGAINST (-) No. 4221: The currently operating SROs will have to get re- registered within a three-year period; granting excessively wide powers to self-regulating organizations by delegating to them certain powers of public authorities, the NBU’s powers of controlling and/or regulating economic or professional activities may lead to irregularities.
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29. Draft Law No. 4017 (O. Fediyenko) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis and as a whole) “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 10 OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON STATE DECORATIONS’ (TO INSTITUTE THE HONORARY TITLE OF ‘HONORED WORKER OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SPHERE OF UKRAINE’”) – the bill proposes that the list of honorary titles be supplemented with the honorary title “Honored Worker of the Telecommunications Sphere of Ukraine.”
FOR (+) No. 4017: Recognition by the state of achievements of employees in the sphere of telecommunications and telecommunication services; an incentive for employees in that sphere to achieve high performance parameters in implementing tasks and plans.
AGAINST (-) No. 4017: Additional spending on the production of breast badges, certificates, payment of premiums and bonuses in addition to the fixed salary and of pensions to the title holders.
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30. Draft Law No. 3503 (S. Kuzminykh) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE CODE OF UKRAINE ON ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES REGARDING THE SPECIFICS OF DRAWING UP A PROTOCOL ON ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSE FOR FAILURE TO OBSERVE THE LEGALLY ESTABLISHED TIMEFRAMES (DEADLINES) FOR RESPONDING TO AN APPEAL OR INQUIRY FROM AN MP OF UKRAINE” – the bill determines the specifics of drawing up a protocol on administrative offense for failure to observe the legally established timeframes (deadlines) for responding to an appeal or inquiry from an MP of Ukraine; it simplifies the procedures for registering violations in a situation when the person drawing up such document is territorially distanced from the person being brought to administrative liability; the person being brought to liability has the right to provide an explanation and remarks regarding the content of the protocol within 3 days from the moment of receiving the protocol – these materials will be appended to the protocol.
FOR (+) No. 3503: The creation of a mechanism for the exercise of the MPs’ right to submit inquiries and appeals for the purpose of effective state building; strengthening the parliament’s oversight function.
AGAINST (-) No. 3503: The possibility of abuse by MPs of their right to submit inquiries/appeals with no threat of liability; the timeframe for drawing up a protocol on administrative offense is not specified.
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31. Draft Law No. 3683 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS TO IMPROVE THE PROCEDURE FOR DEVELOPING, ADOPTING AND ENFORCING AVIATION RULES OF UKRAINE” – the bill provides that the Aviation Rules of Ukraine will be developed, adopted and enforced in accordance with the standards and recommended practice of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the regulatory acts of the International Air Transport Association, the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), the European Aviation Safety Agency, other international aviation organizations, and with consideration for the legislation of the European Union in the field of civil aviation. Such rules may be adopted in the original language and include provisions of standards and requirements for certification, supervision and operation of aircraft; they will also have the status of technical regulatory documents.
FOR (+) No. 3683: Improvement of the procedure for developing, adopting and enforcing Aviation Rules of Ukraine; implementation in the national legislation of acts of the European Union in the field of civil aviation.
AGAINST (-) No. 3683: Adoption of aviation rules in the original language may lead to a narrower use of the state language in the respective sphere.
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32. Draft Law 2351 (2nd reading) ON AMENDMENTS TO CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE (REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROVISIONS OF CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND EU DIRECTIVES IN THE FIELD OF PROTECTION OF ANIMAL AND PLANT LIFE) – prohibits: exterminate stray animals, beat, kill, poison or maim stray and domestic animals; begging with homeless, domestic and wild animals; give pets as prizes, awards or bonuses, inflict pain or suffering on them, train animals in a way that harms their health and general condition, drown, strangle animals, poison and use electricity; keep captive animals that pose a threat to humans or animals listed in the Red Book; use of animals for advertising, provide photo services with wild animals, except for zoos, circuses and dolphinariums, etc. It also provides for the strengthening of criminal and administrative liability for cruelty to animals. The powers of local governments in the field of protection of animals from cruelty are defined.
FOR (+) No. 2351: UA's fulfillment of international obligations; promoting humane treatment of animals; strengthening the fight against animal cruelty and poaching.
AGAINST (-) No. 2351: The transfer of powers of the Ministry of Ecology (Ministry of Environment) to determine the types and procedures for animal protection to local governments (regional councils) may worsen the protection of animals; consideration of cases of ill-treatment exclusively by courts will increase the burden on judges.
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33. Draft Law No. 3132 (repeat second reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE ANTI- MONOPOLY COMMITTEE OF UKRAINE’ AND SOME OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO IMPROVE THE SYSTEM OF BODIES OF THE ANTI-MONOPOLY COMMITTEE” – the bill provides for the creation at the AMCU of a Commission (Commissions) for considering complaints against violations of the legislation in the sphere of public procurement; such Commission will consist of no less than three commissioners empowered to consider complaints against violations of the legislation in the sphere of public procurement (a total of 10 commissioners), who will be appointed/dismissed by the Head of the AMCU; a commissioner can be appointed for up to two 7-year terms.
FOR (+) No. 3132: Decreasing the workload on the Panel and on the current State Commissioners of the Anti-Monopoly Committee and their greater focus on activities aimed at protecting competition, on merger/concentration permissions and other directly anti-monopolistic issues; improvement of the procedure for appealing against procurement procedures; improvement of consideration of complaints against violations of legislation in the sphere of procurement.
AGAINST (-) No. 3132: The absence of amendments to the Law on Public Procurement creates a legal conflict; the appointment and dismissal of Commissioners for consideration of complaints against violations of legislation in the sphere of public procurement must be performed in compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine and not in the manner proposed by the bill – by the Head of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine; the threat of creating “pet” commissioners who will be using “informal directives” from the Head of the AMCU rather than the Laws of Ukraine.
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34. Draft Resolution No. 4500 (O. Stefanyshyna) “ON THE NATIONAL PLAN OF VACCINATION OF THE POPULATION OF UKRAINE AGAINST COVID-19” – the bill entrusts the Government and the Ministry of Health to develop and approve the National Plan for Conducting Immunization of the Population of Ukraine against the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 for overcoming the pandemic, based on epidemiological observation data, mathematical modeling and forecasting, as well as with consideration for recommendations from international organizations and experience of other countries. The Plan should include the identification of priority groups of Ukrainian population requiring urgent vaccination; contain financial calculations, organization of the vaccination logistics process, provisions on the appointment of persons responsible for implementing the Plan and coordination of vaccination at all levels, and provisions on organizing and conducting a nationwide large-scale communication campaign. Separate oblast-level regional plans must also be developed.
FOR (+) No. 4500: Establishment of clear benchmarks for the National Plan of Immunization against the Coronavirus.
AGAINST (-) No. 4500: The National Plan for the introduction of vaccine against COVID-19 was developed by the Ministry of Health on the basis of recommendations from the WHO back in mid-December; its details were reported by the Head of Government on December 18, 2020; in particular it was said that the Plan aims at vaccinating 50% of the population of Ukraine before the end of 2021.
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35. Draft Law No. 3731 (O. Ustinova) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE NATIONAL GUARD OF UKRAINE’ (REGARDING IDENTIFICATION OF THE SERVICEPERSONS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD OF UKRAINE DURING PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC ORDER ENFORCEMENT TASKS AND PROVISION OF PUBLIC SECURITY)” – the bill proposes assigning a lifelong identification number to National Guard members; the number will be indicated on the helmet, in the certificate, on the badge of a NG member; a register of National Guard Members will be created on the basis of those numbers; disciplinary liability of NG members will be established for violating the rules of identification; the provisions of the bill will not apply in the Joint Forces Operation area.
FOR (+) No. 3731: The bill will simplify identification of servicepersons of the National Guard; as a consequence, it will be possible to discipline them for offenses; protection of NG members in the combat zone against identification by enemies.
AGAINST (-) No. 3731: The 3-months period may be insufficient to prepare for compliance with the requirements of the Law.
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36. Draft Law No. 4046 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO STIMULATE THE ACTIVITIES OF FARMING ENTERPRISES” – the bill regulates the composition of land plots that can be included in authorized capital – they can consist of land plots belonging to citizens who are members of the farming enterprise or to the farming enterprise itself; for young farmers managing a farming enterprise, non- refundable state support through the Ukrainian State Support Fund is introduced.
FOR (-) No. 4046: The opportunity for rural youth to implement their entrepreneurial initiatives; fewer young people leaving the countryside; strengthening the efficiency of farming enterprises by giving them the right to grow, with the lessor’s consent, perennial plants on the leased plot of land and to build waterworks and land reclamation systems, dwelling houses, buildings and structures.
AGAINST (-) No. 4046: The provision of state support to farming enterprises whose managers are under 35 years of age is not quite in line with EU Regulation 1305/2013 (“the age of the manager may not exceed 40 years”); in this connection, a significant number of farm managers 35 to 40 years of age will be deprived of state support; the bill does not provide advisory assistance to newly established farming enterprises.
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37. Draft Laws Nos. 4162 (D. Nalyotov) and 4162-1 (Y. Klymenko) (first reading; the Committee recommends that Mo. 4162 be adopted as a basis, with consideration for the Committee’s proposals) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON TOURISM’ AND SOME OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTS REGARDING THE MAIN PRINCIPLES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TIURISM” – the bill sets out the main principles for tourist activities, the competence of the central and local bodies forming and providing for the implementation of the state policy in the sphere of tourism and resorts, the system of interaction of all participants in tourist activities, the conditions of financial support for tour operators; creates state supervision (oversight) in the sphere of tourism, protection of the rights and legitimate interests of tourists, and the Unified Tourist Register, which will contain information on all subjects of tourist activity; provides for the approval of a tourism development strategy with state policy priorities and the creation of local tourism development programs and local funds.
FOR (-) No. 4162: Deshadowing of the tourist business; reduction of corruption risks; updating the terminology in line with EU legislation; empowering individual entrepreneurs to acquire the status of subjects of tourist activity; protection of the rights of consumers of tourist services; insurance against violations of tourists’ rights; categorization of hotels in line with international standards; favorable conditions for attracting investment; increase in the number of tourists coming to Ukraine; creation of new jobs.
AGAINST (-) No. 4162: The cancellation of licensing of tour operator activities may have a negative impact on the quality of tourist services; the introduction of mandatory insurance is at odds with the Law “On Insurance.”
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38. Draft Law 3715 (L.Bilozir) (first reading, the Committee recommends that bill be adopted as a whole) ON AMENDMENTS TO SECTION X "FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS" LAW OF UKRAINE "ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT" (ON THE EXCLUSION OF THE PROCUREMENT WITHOUT THE USE OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS PROCUREMENT) - it is proposed to exclude the current legislation, according to which goods, works or services necessary to prevent the occurrence / spread, localization / elimination of outbreaks, epidemics / pandemics COVID-19 could be purchased without the use of the Law on Public Procurement (without Transparent).
FOR (+) 3715: provide transparent procurement, without artificially narrowing competition, using an electronic system; will reduce purchases of dubious quality and at inflated prices of medicines, honey. products, laboratory equipment, PPE, disinfectants, antiseptics;
AGAINST (-) 3715: may adversely affect the speed of necessary procurement;
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39. Draft Law No. 4535 (V. Bezghin) (first reading; the Committee recommends that bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO DEVELOP THE INSTITUTION OF STAROSTAS” – the bill strengthens the institution of starostas for towns that are not administrative centers of communities; the starostas will prepare budget proposals and report to the community; also, the bill empowers local self-government bodies to approve starosta districts and the Regulations on Starostas; establishes that from the day a newly created territorial community is vested with local self-government powers the powers of the persons who performed the duties of starosta in a starosta district are terminated.
FOR (-) No. 4535: Continuation of reorganization of local authorities in accordance with the new administrative territorial system; establishment of a population of 1,500 persons as a criterion for a starosta district (except for mountain or low density territories); strengthening the representative functions of starostas; clarity of powers of starostas after approval of the Regulations; expansion of the powers of starostas, who are granted the right to provide administrative services to the population; starostas are prohibited from combining their activities with the holding of another position, such as being a deputy of a rayon or oblast council or having another paid job.
AGAINST (-) No. 4535: Lack of clarity of the rules for conducting discussions in the process of election of starostas using various procedures – hearings, meetings of citizens and other forms of public consultation; termination of the powers of acting starostas will temporarily deprive citizens of timely receipt of administrative services; the formation and functioning of starosta districts is not provided for by the Constitution of Ukraine; no upper limit is set for the number of residents in a starosta district, which means that excessively large starosta districts may be formed; starostas’ being deprived of the right to be a member of an executive committee; uncertainty regarding the range of entities empowered to seek early termination of the starosta’s power by the council.
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40. Draft Laws Nos. 3360 (A. Motovylovets) and 3360-1 (I. Friz) (first reading; the Committee proposes that No. 3360-1 be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATTIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO ELIMINATE INCONSISTENCIES AND UPDATE THE SALE OF MORTGAGED PROPERTY AND PROPERTY IN AN ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDING” – the bill removes from the Law “On the Enforcement Proceeding” the mechanism for the sale of seized property for a fixed price; the powers to determine the procedure for conducting electronic auctions is transferred to the Cabinet of Ministers; the bill proposes that mortgaged items be sold at electronic auctions; the mortgage holder will receive from a notary a certificate on acquisition of property from an electronic auction that did not take place.
FOR (-) No. 3360-1: Strengthening the transparency of the system of sale of seized property; increasing the efficiency of enforcement of court decisions; clear legislative regulation of the sale of assets in an enforcement proceeding.
AGAINST (-) No. 3360-1: In the event of cancellation of the procedure for the sale of property at a fixed price, which applies to property worth up to 50 times the minimum salary, the expenses related to organizing and conducting an auction may be higher than the value of the seized property.
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41. Draft Law No. 4048 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS TO IMPLEMENT JUDGMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS” – the bill introduces a mechanism for alleviating punishment for persons serving a life sentence; convicts serving a life sentence will draw up an individual plan for reintegration in society and add it to their appeal for replacement of the unserved part of the punishment with a softer form; convicts are granted the right to ask the court, through the administration of the penitentiary institution, to provide them with electronic copies of materials of the criminal proceeding (criminal case) and documents appended to the case file; establishes that strikes at transport enterprises will be used in accordance with the legislation on the procedure for settlement of collective labor disputes (conflicts), but prohibits such strikes under conditions of a state of emergency or marshal law.
FOR (-) No. 4048: Elimination of inconsistencies contravening the case law of the ECHR, with due regard to its judgments in Naydyon v. Ukraine , Veniamin Tymoshenko and others v. Ukraine ; humanization of certain norms of the criminal legislation; extension of the rights of convicts to familiarization with the court judgment to situations of petitioning for substitution of punishment.
AGAINST (-) No. 4048: The noncompliance of the changes with the provisions of other legislative acts, in particular with the Law “On Social Dialogue in Ukraine”; impossibility to perform administrative supervision of persons sentenced to life imprisonment after their early release.
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42. Draft Law 4049 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading, the Committee recommends to adopt as a basic) ON AMENDING CODE OF UKRAINE OF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES, THE CRIMINAL CODE UKRAINE AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE UKRAINE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS - provides mechanism for viewing the position of life imprisonment freedom, a convict when he has served a sentence of at least 10 years will have the right to apply for replacement of life imprisonment with a term of at least 15 years; the convict will be in places of imprisonment for at least 25 years - 10 before the moment of appeal and 15 years after the moment of appeal; such a sanction as "administrative arrest" in Articles 44, 121, 178 of the Code of Administrative Offenses is removed, while the limits of other types of penalties are increased; it is proposed to reduce the term of consideration of the appeal against such a sanction; provides acquaintance with materials of criminal proceedings, after entry into force of the court decision; if the convict has applied, he receives the materials in electronic form through the administration of the institution where the sentence is served;
FOR (+) 4049: elimination of inconsistencies that contradict the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, taking into account the decisions "Fast against Ukraine", "Roosters against Ukraine"; humanization of certain norms of criminal law; expanding the rights of convicts to commute their life sentences with a milder one;
AGAINST (-) 4049: will require additional expenditures from the budget - 62 million; there are no norms that would determine the procedure for the transfer of electronic copies of the Crimea. cases to the convict; lack of clear rules on the application of parole to persons sentenced to life imprisonment;
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43. Draft Law No. 2037 (R. Kniazevych) (the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO STRENGTHEN LIABILITY IN THE SPHERE OF PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE” – the bill adds to the list of violations a person’s failure to submit a report on a completed archaeological survey; provides for increased administrative punishment for: violation of the requirements of the legislation on protection of cultural heritage – for citizens, from 3.400 to 5,100 UAH (at present, 850 – 1,700 UAH); for officials, from 5,100 to 6,800 UAH (at present, 1,700 – 2,500 UAH); the powers to initiate prosecution under Articles 92 and 188-33 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses regarding violations of requirements of the legislation on protection of cultural heritage are transferred from administrative commissions to bodies in charge of protection of cultural heritage.
FOR (-) No. 2037: Compliance with international obligations on protection, preservation, promotion of cultural heritage and its transfer to future generations; prevention of violations in this sphere.
AGAINST (-) No. 2037: Absence of a body that will draw up the protocol on administrative liability; the creation of a new department/body for the protection of cultural heritage will require considerable spending of time and money; the level of the administrative punishment established by the Draft Law is incommensurable with the level of criminal punishment provided for by Article 298 of the Criminal Code and violates the principle of conformity of the social harm of a violation to the extent of administrative punishment; higher level of sanctions, as a rule, does not lead to a decrease in the number of violations of law.
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44. Draft Law No. 3474 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATTIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO CANCEL THE MARKING OF COPIES OF AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTS, PHONOGRAMS, VIDEOGRAMS, COMPUTER SOFTWARE, DATABASES WITH CONTROL MARKS” – the bill cancels the ineffective system of marking copies of audiovisual products, phonograms, videograms, computer software, databases with control marks, declaring the Law of Ukraine “On Distribution of Copies of Audiovisual Products, Phonograms, Videograms, Computer Software, Databases” no longer valid; removes from the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses Article 164-9 “Illegal Distribution of Copies of Audiovisual Products, Phonograms, Videograms, Computer Software, Databases,” and from the Criminal Code, Article 216 “Illegal Production, Forging, Use or Sale of Illegally Produced, Received of Forged Control Marks.”
FOR (-) No. 3474: Laser discs are already hardly ever used for distributing copies of audiovisual products and computer software and so there is no need for respective control for possible prosecution.
AGAINST (-) No. 3474: The problem of forging / illegal copying of audiovisual products is not resolved; insufficient justification for the necessity for canceling the respective provisions of the legislation; no synchronization of the consideration of Draft Law No. 3474 with Draft Law No. 2812 “On Amending the Budget Code of Ukraine, which excludes payment for receiving control marks from the State Budget revenues.
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45. Draft Law No. 2063 (S. Cherniavskyi) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO ENSURE ACCESS OF A DEFENSE CONSEL TO A PERSON ENTITLED TO LEGAL DEFENSE” – the bill obliges the administration of a penitentiary institution to inform in writing, within 24 hours, the lawyer of a convict of each change in the terms of the convict’s imprisonment; the bill provides that a person in custody is entitled to meetings with his/her defense counsel that must not be limited in time or number, on any days from 7 to 20 hours; also, it provides for the responsibility of the head of the penitentiary institution’s administration for the placement of the convicts who have been brought to the institution, for ensuring that they exercise their right to receive visitors; the bill specifies that the number of close relatives who have the right to visit a convict is unlimited; notification of the refusal to grant permission for a visit must be justified and can be appealed in court; notification of the refusal to grant permission for the visit must be sent to the close relatives that requested the visit and be served on the convict immediately after its issuance; the bill establishes that convicts staying at in-patient hospitals have the right to legal assistance, confidential legal advice; in such cases, the duty to guard the convicts lies with the central executive body in charge of implementing state policy in the sphere of criminal punishment.
FOR (+) No. 2063: The convicts/detainees are guaranteed the right to legal assistance and confidential legal advice from a defense counsel, representative, advocate, lawyer, or legal expert; notification of the lawyer and the close relatives about change of the place of stay and/or the legal status of a person in custody.
AGAINST (-) No. 2063: There are no provisions regarding the responsibility of a lawyer or representative in case a person in custody requests a meeting but the lawyer or representative fails to come.
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46. Draft Law 3911 (1st reading, the Committee recommends to adopt as a basis) ON AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLE 259 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF UA CONCERNING STRENGTHENING LIABILITY FOR A KNOWLY FALSE REPORT ABOUT THE THREAT TO THE SECURITY OF CITIZENS – punishes “jokers about mining” not only with “imprisonment” for a term of 2 to 6 years, but also with confiscation of property, if the objects of false information are critical infrastructure or which provide the activities of public authorities or health care / educational facilities or in the event of serious consequences or recurrence of such crimes.
FOR (+) 3911: reducing the number of knowingly false reports about the threat to public safety; increase in state budget revenues due to the use of confiscation of property of criminals.
AGAINST (-) 3911: the strengthening of sanctions usually does not lead to a reduction in crimes, which is confirmed by the practice of strengthening sanctions for the same crimes in 2012 and maintaining the trend of increasing the number of these crimes; the use of confiscation in the absence of a focus on the criminal's own enrichment is contrary to the principles of confiscation; failure to resolve the issue of receiving such false messages from the territory of other states, or using the Internet; UA does not have an obligation to identify SIM card holders, which would be a more effective measure to reduce this type of crime..
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47. Draft Law No. 2390 (Y. Kamelchuk) (second reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING THE CODE OF UKRAINE ON BANKRUPTCY PROCEDURES (REGARDING MEASURES AIMED AT REPAYMENT OF DEBTS ARISING ON THE WHOLESALE ELECTRICITY MARKET)” – the bill proposes that an economic court should refuse to initiate proceedings or should terminate proceedings if the debtor is a wholesale supplier of electricity; the moratorium will not apply to satisfaction of creditors’ claims during the period of the debt repayment procedure on conditions specified by the Law of Ukraine “On Measures Aimed at Repayment of Debts Arising on the Wholesale Electricity Market”; the bill establishes the specifics of repayment of debts arising on the wholesale electricity market.
FOR (+) No. 2390: Protecting wholesale suppliers of electricity from bankruptcy; gradual repayment of debts on the energy market.
AGAINST (–) No. 2390: Suspension of collection of debts from wholesale electricity suppliers using a method known in the whole world – through bankruptcy – violates the rights of all creditors, including individuals and public legal entities, and violates the provisions of the Constitution regarding equality before law of all holders of the ownership right; the existence of this ban on debt collection will complicate the economic activities of the wholesale electricity suppliers themselves, as no bank or credit institution will wish to deal with such entity.
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48. Draft Law No. 2694 (O. Bakumov) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE ON USE OF LIGHT-REFLECTING ELEMENTS BY PEDESTRIANS” – the bill proposes making it incumbent on pedestrians to use light-reflecting elements (tape, vest, sticker) at nighttime or in conditions of insufficient visibility and establishing a fine of 51 UAH for non-compliance with this rule.
FOR (+) No. 2694: Decrease in the incidence of road accidents with fatalities and injured pedestrians in the dark season of the year; fewer road traffic accidents involving pedestrians.
AGAINST (–) No. 2694: Additional expenses for pedestrians, who will have to buy light-reflecting elements; difficulties regarding imposition of sanctions on pedestrians.
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49. Draft Law No. 2696 (O. Bakumov) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE ON USE OF LIGHT-REFLECTING ELEMENTS BY ROAD TRAFFIC PARTICIPANTS” – the bill proposes making it incumbent on road traffic participants to use light-reflecting elements at nighttime or in conditions of insufficient visibility, and also obliging officials in charge of construction (reconstruction/repair/use) of automobile roads to provide their employees with light-reflecting elements and introducing a fine of 510 UAH for violating these rules; the fine for failure to use safety belts or crash helmets will be increased from 51 to 510 UAH.
FOR (+) No. 2696: Decrease in the incidence of road accidents involving drivers and passengers; strengthened liability of road traffic participants for committing offenses.
AGAINST (–) No. 2696: The Draft Law only amends Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine on Road Traffic, although comprehensive regulation of this issue requires amending Article 14 as well.
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50. Draft Law No. 2697 (O. Bakumov) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 127 OF THE CODE OF UKRAINE ON ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES TO STRENGTHEN PEDESTRIANS’ LIABILITY FOR VIOLATING TRAFFIC RULES” – fines for violation of traffic rules by pedestrians are increased: for failure by pedestrians to obey traffic signals, for pedestrians’ illegal street crossing or road crossing directly in front of approaching vehicles, from 0 – 51 to 255 UAH; if committed under the influence of alcohol, from 136 to 510 UAH; if this led to an accident threat, from 170 to 680 UAH.
FOR (+) No. 2697: Decrease in the incidence of road accidents with fatalities and injured pedestrians; fewer road traffic accidents involving pedestrians; influencing pedestrians’ conscience regarding their impact on road traffic safety and their real liability for possible accidents.
AGAINST (–) No. 2697: In practice, it is hard to punish pedestrians (no ID documents; impossibility to detain the offender for identification; numerous violations).
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51. Draft Law No. 3901 (Cabinet of Ministers) (second reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON AUTOMOBILE ROADS’” – a technical bill; in the text, references to Laws that are no longer valid are replaced with references to Laws that are currently in force; also, reference to the Law “On Local State Administrations” is added in connection with road management.
FOR (+) No. 3901: Elimination of technical faults in the current legislation.
AGAINST (–) No. 3901: Waste of limited plenary time on minor bills; no systematic approach to changes.
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52. Draft Laws Nos. 4167 (Y. Tymoshenko), 4167-1 (O. Marusiak) (first reading; the Committee recommends adoption as a whole) “ON PREVENTING, DECREASING, AND CONTROLLING INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION” – the bill establishes the legal and organizational principles for preventing, controlling and eliminating pollution resulting from industrial activities, so as to ensure a high level of environmental protection by introducing the integrated permit, identifying types of activities requiring an integrated permit, requirements regarding the use of the best accessible technologies and management methods, monitoring of emissions, and supervision of economic subjects.
FOR (+) No. 4167: Bringing the legislation in compliance with Directive 2010/75/EU and implementation of Ukraine’s obligations under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement; reduction of industrial pollution and related morbidity; the possibility of combining several environmental permits into one – integrated on the basis of creating a relevant Register of Industrial Enterprises receiving such permit; modernization of energy companies and replacement of their obsolete equipment.
AGAINST (-) No. 4167: Insufficient adaptation period for the introduction of a new permit system and the likelihood of negative consequences for the country’s economy; the vagueness of the evaluation criteria and of the grounds for suspension of the permit, empowering the permitting body to suspend or revoke the integrated permit without a court decision may create preconditions for corruption.
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53. Draft Law No. 3711-д (repeat first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 3711-д be adopted in first reading) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE JUDICIARY AND THE STATUS OF JUDGES’ AND CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF UKRAINE AND JUDICIAL SELF-GOVERNMENT BODIES” – the number of judges will be determined by the High Council of Justice: in a court – with due regard for the opinion of the SJA; in the Supreme Court, for the opinion of the Plenum of the Supreme Court, but no more than 200; the HQCJ will be deemed competent if at least 11 of its 16 members were appointed based on the results of a competition with 2 stages of testing: (1) for integrity – the test will be conducted by the Competition Commission on Integrity which will act on the basis of its Regulations, to be approved by the HCJ (the candidates to the Commission will be proposed by the Council of Judges – 3 members will be chosen from among judges and retired judges + 3 persons from the community of international judges with whom Ukraine cooperates under international agreements in the sphere of preventing and combating corruption; all will work on a voluntary basis, but their salary at the main workplace will be retained, while the international judges’ accommodation and travel costs will be reimbursed from the budget; (2) for competence – the test will be conducted by the HCJ. The Commission on Integrity will propose 2 candidates for one position of a HQCJ member by at least 4 votes (that is, the international judges will actually have the power of veto); as to candidates supported by the votes of at least 4 members of the Competition Commission, the HCJ will perform further selection based on professional competence criteria.
FOR (+) No. 3711: The possibility to form the HQCJ and launch the process of selection, qualifications assessment and appointment of judges – at present, there are about 2,000 vacancies of judges; granting the Ukrainians the right to court protection.
AGAINST (–) No. 3711: Questions as to the integrity of the current HCJ members; the possibility of abuse of power on their part in the process of appointment of HQCJ members; the frequency of reviewing the number of judges in courts is not specified; the timeframes for the restructuring of the SCU through accession to the SC and for the transfer of SCU judges to membership in the SC are not determined; there is no answer to the question which of the current judges should remain and which should be dismissed in case the total number of judges is decreased.
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54. Draft Laws Nos. 4335 (I. Friz), 4335-1 (A. Sharaskin) (first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 4335 be adopted as a basis) “ON CIRCULATION OF CIVILIAN FOREARMS AND RELATED AMMUNITION” – the bill regulates the issues of manufacture, acquisition, possession, alienation, carrying, transportation, repair, and use of EXCLUSIVELY civilian firearms and related ammunition (hereinafter, civilian firearms), with indication of category of arms: A – automatic firearms; B – smooth-bore short-barreled firearms; C – short- barreled firearms; D – smooth-bore long-barreled firearms; and E – rifled-bore long-barreled and combined firearms. The requirements for the owners of the firearms are as follows: citizenship of Ukraine; absence of medical contraindications and of criminal record and cases of administrative persecution within the past year; mandatory civil liability insurance policy for possible damage to a third party. There will be mandatory courses to study the technical components of the firearms, the rules of handling and using the weapon. Short-barreled firearms can only be acquired by citizens who have attained the age of 28, provided that they have a 5-year experience of handling other types of firearms. Possession of the registration certificate for the weapon is a must.
FOR (+) No. 4335: On the legislative level, resolution of the issue of acquisition and possession of civilian weapons by citizens; establishment of technical requirements for civilian weapons; withdrawal of civilian weapons from illegal circulation; establishment of liability for violating the legislation on the circulation of civilian weapons; the prohibition of carrying short-barreled firearms (revolvers and pistols) will remain.
AGAINST (-) No. 4335: The bill does not involve the regulation of circulation of bows, crossbows, bow arrows, cold arms and products structurally similar to cold arms, and air guns; the bill proposes lifting the obligation of security personnel to provide first premedical aid to victims in case damage has been caused to their health; it only provides for “certain categories of citizens” who will be allowed to carry “traumatic” weapons; creates grounds for awarding short-barreled weapons to any persons, even in the absence of any justification, which undermines the value of weapons as a military award.
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55. Draft Laws Nos. 4336 (I. Friz), 4336-1 (A. Sharaskin) (first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 4336 be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE CODE OF UKRAINE ON ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES AND THE CRIMINAL CODE OF UKRAINE TO IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ON CIRCULATION OF CIVILIAN FOREARMS AND RELATED AMMUNITION’” – administrative and criminal liability is strengthened: the amounts of fines are increased (from 170 to 85,000 UAH); and in the event of a criminal offense, the punishment may be deprivation of liberty for a term of 5 to 10 years; the bill defines more precisely the limits of justifiable defense.
FOR (+) No. 4336: Increased State Budget revenues and expenses.
AGAINST (-) No. 4336: The strengthening of liability does not guarantee that punishment will be inevitable; the provisions of certain Articles of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code are vague, which may lead to conflicts when the provisions are applied in practice.
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