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An hour of questions to the Government about the results of the quarantine measures introduced by the Government of Ukraine in 2021 and the state of implementation of the plan to vaccinate the population of Ukraine against coronavirus COVID-19.

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1. Draft Law No. 2194 (M. Zablotskyi) (repeat second reading; consideration of project proposals continues; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING THE LAND CODE OF UKRAINE AND OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTS TO IMPROVE THE MANAGEMENT AND DEREGULATION SYSTEM IN THE SPHERE OF LAND RELATIONS” – by amending 28 legislative acts, the bill substantially reforms the management system in the sphere of land relations, simplifies access to land resources for the population and business; institutes “the office of state inspector for oversight over the use and protection of the lands of village, settlement and city councils” in the executive committees of village, settlement and city councils; the inspector will be entitled to consider cases on administrative offenses on behalf of the executive committees; the parliament won’t endorse the change of the intended use of particularly valuable lands.

FOR (+) No. 2194: The bill is intended to make the procedures in the land sphere transparent and fast; it empowers citizens to dispose of all state- owned lands, including agricultural ones, outside populated localities (the total area is 10 million hectares, or one sixth of the territory), except for lands used by the Ministry of Defense and plots of state enterprises; the annual increase in local budget revenues will amount to 4.5 billion UAH; oversight and regulation by territorial communities of non-purpose use of lands, urban construction documents, encroachment of land plots.

AGAINST (–) No. 2194: Duplication of the powers to oversee the use and protection of lands vested in the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadaster (StateGeoCadaster) and the State Environmental Inspection; StateGeoCadaster’s conflict of interest, since the Cadaster will combine the powers to dispose of agricultural lands of state enterprises, state institutions, experimental stations with the oversight powers in respect of these lands; simplification of change of the intended use of non-state- owned land (without the consent of the authorized executive body); the possibility of foreigners acquiring title to land plots by means of change of the intended use of these plots as a result of registration of title to the real estate object located on a plot of agricultural land; decrease of the size of the land plot provided to a citizen on lease terms for gardening to 0.6 hectares; granting the priority right to purchase an agricultural land plot in the new Article 130-1 of the Land Code to subsoil users even without land auctions; the powers of the central executive bodies are made dependent on decisions of representative local self-government bodies.

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2. Draft Resolution 4690-8 (D. Razumkov) ON AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA OF THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE OF THE NINTH CONVOCATION - additionally includes 27 bills in the agenda.

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3. Draft Law No. 2195 (R. Pidlasa) (second reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS REGARDING SALE OF PLOTS OF STATE OR COMMUNALLY OWNED LAND OR TITLE TO THEM (LEASE, SUPERFICIES, EMPHYTEUSIS) THROUGH ELECTRONIC AUCTIONS – the bill introduces mandatory sale of plots of state or communally owned land or title to them (lease, superficies, emphyteusis) through state electronic auctions within a unified trading system which will operate in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers; land auctions will be conducted in accordance with the agreement with the organizer, where the processes of bidding and submission of applications for participation are automated; based on the results of the auction, an agreement will be concluded with the winner of the auction who offered the highest price; the bidding for state or communally owned lands will be performed by the decision of the bidding organizer; the decision will indicate the starting price, the timeframe for and terms of using the plot, and the person authorized to enter into the contract; the bill establishes guarantees of integrity, registration and guarantee fees – the amount of the guarantee fee may not be less than 30% of the starting sale price or of the amount of the annual fee for the use of the plot; guarantee fees will not be refunded if not a single bid has been received or when the bidding protocol and the contract based on the results of the bidding have been signed, but the due amount if not a single bid was has not been paid; the starting price of state or communally owned agricultural lands will be equal to the normative monetary assessment; and of other lands, may not be lower than the expert monetary assessment.

FOR (+) No. 2195: Transparency, automation of all processes, and accessibility of land auctions; prevention of the starting price being set below the level of normative/expert monetary assessment; increase in revenues of budgets of all levels; conducting online land auctions without submitting any “papers”, registration, physical presence at auctions; the impossibility of abuse on the part of the organizers by means of provision of inaccurate or incomplete information to different participants; providing for the possibility of dividing large plots into smaller ones so as to make farmers’ participation reasonable; high accessibility of electronic auctions leads to competition and a fair market price (practice shows that the value of land plots increases by 223% at online auctions).

AGAINST (–) No. 2195: Presence of provisions of a reference nature (lack of regulation at Law level) on the organization of bidding, the amount, procedure for payment and return of remuneration to the operator of the electronic platform; lack of a mechanism for the participants to contact the organizer through the electronic trading system asking for clarification on the announcement of land auctions, the algorithm for prompt response to potential violations that may be committed by the organizers during the publication in the electronic trading system of the announcement of tenders; only three rounds of bidding are provided for.

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4. Draft Law No. 3952 (R. Stefanchuk) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS TO ENSURE OPNNESS OF INFORMATION ON THE SIZE OF LABOR REMUNERATION IN STATE-RUN COMPANIES” – the bill obliges state enterprises, state companies, economic partnerships with no less than 50% of their authorized capital owned by the state or a territorial community, and also legal public-law entities to publish information on the salary/remuneration of the chairperson (deputy chairperson) and members of supervisory councils and executive bodies, including the principles for the formation and sizes of salary and other types of remuneration, as well as to publish information on the organizational structure, mission, functions, powers, main objectives/tasks, areas of activities, and financial resources (structure and amount of budget funds, procedure and mechanism for their spending).

FOR (+) No. 3952: The bill increases the transparency of the subjects of the state economic sector; provides citizens with access to information; makes it easier to monitor the activities of such subjects, which will contribute to higher confidence in the authorities.

AGAINST (-) No. 3952: Communally owned enterprises are not included in the group of entities that are required to publish relevant information; no procedure is specified for managerial bodies to oversee the timeliness and appropriateness of the publication by the administrators of information on their websites; nor is there a procedure for the imposition of sanctions for failure to comply with the established obligations.

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5. Draft Law No. 4220 (President of Ukraine) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO REGULATE SOME ISSUES OF BANKRUPTCY PROCEDURES FOR THE PERIOD OF IMPLEMENTATION OF MEASURES AIMED AT PREVENTING THE EMERGENCE AND SPREAD OF THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE COVID-19” – the bill specifies that during the quarantine period, the participation in remote meetings of creditors will require certification of the identity and authority of a participant in the meeting on the basis of documents certifying the identity and authority of the person using electronic digital signature; if the participant does not have an EDS, the identification will be performed in accordance with the Law “On the Unified State Demographic Register and Documents Confirming the Citizenship of Ukraine, Certifying the Identity or Special Status of the Person”; also, the bill sets out details of the procedure for holding a general meeting of creditors in the form of answers to questions (provided that the recipient of the correspondence is duly identified); proposes resuming the possibility of initiating bankruptcy proceedings against debtors that are legal entities at the request of creditors with claims against the debtor arising from March 12, 2020 (according to the current Final and Transitional Provisions of the Code, there is no such possibility during the quarantine period and 90 days after its cancellation); releases the bankruptcy administrator from disciplinary liability (now the administrator is released from any liability) for failure to act if this failure resulted from the quarantine.

FOR (+) No. 4220: Creation of conditions for protection by economic subjects of property rights and the right to repay debts; ensuring equality before the law and the court in the course of implementation of bankruptcy procedures; granting the right to use the electronic digital signature (EDS) to certify the identity and authority of the participant in the meeting (committee session) of creditors; restoration of the possibility of initiating bankruptcy proceedings against debtors that are legal entities at the request of creditors with claims against the debtor arising from the day of imposition of the quarantine.

AGAINST (–) No. 4220: Duplication of certain norms that are already in force, which may complicate the practical implementation of the Law; the procedure for identifying a person without EDS is not specified – only a reference to the Law of Ukraine “On the Unified Demographic Register…” which does not set out such a procedure; and information from the Register can only be used with the consent of the person concerned or in the interests of national security, economic wellbeing, and protection of human rights.

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6. Draft Law No. 4409 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE CODE OF UKRAINE ON BANKRUPTCY PROCEDURES” – the bill introduces the automated system “Bankruptcy and Insolvency,” expands the sources for payment of remuneration to the bankruptcy administrator (BA) through the sale of the debtor’s property, which is pledged to the bank; adds to the Code on Bankruptcy Procedures a permanent norm on the appointment of a BA at the request of the initiating creditor or debtor – an individual (as of today, an analogous norm is in force under Law No. 86-IX of June 5, 2020, but it is a temporary one, valid until the date of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System starts to operate); expands the powers of the BA and the restriction of oversight of BAs’ work for creditors, the BAs’ right not only to convene but also to hold a meeting or a committee session of the creditors, the right to determine the terms of sale of the bankrupt person’s property, including in the form of a single property complex or its separate parts; cancels the necessity for the BA to coordinate with the secured creditor the expenses related to maintaining and selling the collateral; a 2-fold increase – from 5% to 10% – of the BA’s fee for the return to the debtor of property held by third parties; changes the order of satisfaction of creditors’ claims, the accumulation on the debtor’s account of funds necessary for full repayment of the claims of same-order creditors – and after that, the satisfaction of those claims within 10 days; provides for the holding of a second re-auction with the possibility of reducing the starting price without determining the marginal value; transfers to the ownership of the territorial community the debtor’s property discovered after the completion of the bankruptcy case.

FOR (+) No. 4409: Aligning the current legislation with world trends; ensuring a unified approach to the application of the norms of the Code; formation of the Unified Register of Debtors, the Unified Register of Bankruptcy Administrators of Ukraine, the functioning of the electronic cabinet of bankruptcy administrators, which eliminates corruption components; transparent collection, storage, search, generalization, provision of information on the progress of bankruptcy proceedings; the possibility to oversee the financial and economic performance of the debtor, which will have a positive impact on the country’s economy, improve the investment climate.

AGAINST (–) No. 4409: Lack of clarity and legal uncertainty of certain norms regarding the functioning of the automates system “Bankruptcy and Insolvency” – in particular, it is not specified which state agency will be in charge of maintaining the system; the conditions for information processing in the said automated system and its protection are not specified either – and this carries risks to the functioning of the whole automated system; there are no norms guaranteeing its co-functioning with the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System; the status of the electronic trading system that will sell property in bankruptcy (insolvency) proceedings is not set out and this will create threats to the effective sale of the debtor’s property; provides that statements of bankruptcy are to be considered in summary proceedings, even though the Code of Economic Procedure says that such cases may not be considered in a summary lawsuit.

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7. Draft Laws Nos. 4416-1 (D. Natalukha); 4416 (S. Labaziuk) (first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 4416-1 be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON INDUSTRIAL PARKS’ TO SIMPLIFY THE CREATION AND STIMULATION OF THE OPERATION OF INDUSTRIAL PARKS” – No. 4416-1 specifies the objects that can be located within an industrial park; offers incentives for industrial parks: compensation to management companies, initiators of creation – economic subjects and participants in industrial parks of 50% of the cost of linking and connecting to the electrical grid; compensation to participants in industrial parks for payment of interest on loans depending on the share of exports of own production in the total income from their economic activity (15-30% of exports: reimbursement of 30% of the total amount paid as interest on loans; 30-50% – reimbursement of 50%, ≥ 50% – reimbursement of 50%; ≥70% – reimbursement of 70%); partial compensation of investments of industrial park participants in the creation of production facilities during the first 3 years of economic activity within the industrial park (15-30% of the exports, on the average, during each of the 3 years of activity) – reimbursement of 15% of the total capital costs; 30-50% – reimbursement of 30%; ≥50% – reimbursement of 50%; ≥70% – reimbursement of 70%); allows appropriating land for the construction of industrial parks, as well as changing the intended use of particularly valuable land for the creation and operation of industrial parks; allows removing and transferring the soil cover of land plots without the special permission of the respective central executive body for works related to arrangement, construction, and technical maintenance of industrial parks.

FOR (+) No. 4416-1: Introduction of state incentives for industrial parks, state investment in infrastructure; reduction of costs for businesses at the beginning of operation; reduction of the cost of industrial parks’ connection to engineering networks; creation of additional jobs.

AGAINST (–) No. 4416-1: Legal inconsistency of approaches to the approval of unified requirements of the industrial park concept – resulting in the inability of the authorized state body to specify the exhaustive list of criteria and information that the initiator of the industrial park creation must indicate in the concept; the impossibility to establish special taxation regimes for industrial parks by this Law without making appropriate amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine; non-compliance with the provisions of the Laws of Ukraine “On Construction Norms” and "On Regulation of Urban Planning Activities” the provisions of which already specify the list of objects that can be placed in the industrial park; appropriation of land and change of intended use of particularly valuable lands; lower budget revenues; the bill requires the NBU to develop a compensation program for the management companies, the initiators of and participants in industrial parks, but the relevant Law does not vest such powers in the NBU; providing for the opportunity to remove soil without the permission of the central executive body; the benefits specified in the law fail to create favorable conditions for all participants in the industrial park – only for those who are exporters.

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8. Proposals of the President to Law No. 3964 (Cabinet of Ministers) (the Committee proposes that the Law be supported with the President’s proposals) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO RENAME THE FUND OF SOCIAL PROTECTION OF THE DISABLED AND BRINGING THE TERMINOLOGY IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE LEGISLATION IN THE SPHERE OF SOCIAL PROTECTION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITY” – the bill is a purely technical one: the name of the Fund of Social Protection of the Disabled will be changed to the Fund of Social Protection of Persons with Disability. Initially, the bill was to take effect on January 1, 2021, but since this is now impossible, the President proposes that it take effect on the next day after the day of its publication.

FOR (+) No. 3964: Bringing the legislation of Ukraine in compliance with the terminology of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to that Convention, dated December 16, 2009, as well as with the universally accepted practice.

AGAINST (–) No. 3964: There aren’t any.

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9. Draft Law 2689 (second reading, the Committee recommends to adopt it as a basis) ON AMENDMENTS TO CERTAIN LAWS OF UA AS REGARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL AND HUMANITARIAN LAW - introduces the principle of universal jurisdiction as regards aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes ; establishes criminal liability for military commanders, persons actually acting as commanders and other superiors for any crime committed by their subordinate if they knew (deliberately assumed) or should and could have known about them committing a crime / their intention to commit such a crime, etc.

FOR (+) 2689: bringing the legislation of UA on criminal liability in line with the provisions of international law; possibility for law enforcement agencies to qualify crimes in the temporarily occupied territories of UA.

AGAINST (-) 2689: lack of a practical mechanism for implementation of the draft law; introduction of the criminal responsibility of military commanders not for their own actions, and holding them responsible for actions performed by “that guy”.

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10. 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: There aren’t any.

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11. Draft Laws Nos. 5122 (S. Kuzminykh), 5122-1 (D. Solomchuk), 5122-2 (T. Plachkova) (first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 5122 be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 21 OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS’ REGARDING PROHIBITION OF SALE OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS TO CHILDREN” – No. 5122 prohibits selling pharmaceutical products to citizens under 14 years of age; in case of doubt as to the age of the buyer, the product can be sold upon presentation of a document certifying age.

AGAINST (–) No. 5122: Lack of a comprehensive approach and explanatory work to prevent the situation of uncontrolled abuse of pharmaceuticals by minors; practical impossibility to implement under this bill the ban on the purchase of pharmaceuticals online; pharmaceuticals include antiseptics, vitamins and other products that are completely safe for children, so the ban on the sale of all pharmaceuticals appears to be not quite logical.

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12. Draft Law No. 4382 (L. Bilozir) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO ENSURE THE CITIZENS’ RIGHT TO ACCESS TO STATE REGISTRATION OF ACTS OF CIVIL STATUS IN CONNECTION WITH ENLARGEMENT OF TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES” – the bill grants the territorial communities created on the basis of cities of oblast subordination the powers in the sphere of state registration of acts of civil status: registration of birth, marriage, death.

FOR (+) No. 4382: Elimination of technical faults in the current legislation; granting such powers to all local self-government bodies; integration of such services in the Centers for Provision of Administrative Services; the possibility to provide such services in starosta districts.

AGAINST (–) No. 4382: The term “city of oblast subordination” is used, but, according to the logic of decentralization of cities, there will not be any such cities upon completion of the reform; therefore, more amendments will be needed later.

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13. Draft Law 4634 (H. Mamka) (first reading, the Committee recommends the adoption of a whole) ON AMENDING ARTICLE 367 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF UKRAINE to strengthen responsibility for negligence, if it caused death RIGHTS - complements article 367 paragraph three according to which official negligence, if it caused the death of a person, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years with deprivation of the right to hold office or engage in certain activities for up to 3 years and a fine of 34 to 85 thousand uah. or without such.

FOR (+) 4634: increases criminal liability for negligence if it caused the death of a person.

AGAINST (-) 4634: deduces from the notion of "grave consequences" such a consequence of official negligence as "death of a person" by establishing a separate ground for bringing a person to justice.

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14. Draft Law No. 3821 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON POSTAL COMMUNICATION’ – the bill provides for a legislative definition of “courier communication” (governmental and departmental courier communication within the Armed Forces of Ukraine) as components of postal communication of Ukraine; also, it specifies the provision of courier services in a time of peace and during a special period.

FOR (+) No. 3821: Protection of confidentiality when receiving, processing, transporting, delivering postal items containing classified information.

AGAINST (–) No. 3821: There are several types of post/mail in Ukraine: the official correspondence of the President; of the VRU Chairperson; of the Prime Minister; of state bodies; of local self-government bodies; of foreign diplomatic institutions and diplomatic mail; this can lead to difficulties when applying the Law in practice; the bill is not aligned with the Law “On State Service of Special Communication and Protection of Information of Ukraine.

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15. Draft Law No. 4568 (M. Mezentseva) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON MATERIALS AND OBJECTS IN CONTACT WITH FOOD PRODUCTS” – the bill regulates the safety issues of materials and objects intended for direct or indirect contact with food products in the process of their production, circulation and use ( paper, cardboard, regenerated cellulose, plastic, printing inks, varnishes, wax, silicone, textiles, wood, adhesives, ceramics, cork, rubber, glass, metals and their alloys, as well as anything else ); determines the powers of the central executive body in this sphere; establishes the procedure for state registration of facilities producing materials and items; determines the state registration of plastic processing processes; labeling, declaration of conformity and requirements for ensuring the traceability of materials and objects in contact with food products; introduces maintenance of the State Register of Substances Permitted for Use in this sphere.

FOR (+) No. 4568: Implementation of EU requirements; application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures aimed at reducing the risk of adverse effects on human health of materials and objects in contact with food products; safety of materials and objects in contact with food; introduction of international veterinary certificates for cargo with fishing and/or fishery products.

AGAINST (–) No. 4568: The bill does not quite align with other Laws of Ukraine; non-conformity to terms used in the related spheres of waste management, packaging and packaging waste; lack of a clear list of services of scientific (expert) evaluation of materials and objects in contact with food, their cost; as a result, the bill will not prevent possible abuse and will have a negative impact on business; it will require additional spending from the State Budget.

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16. Draft Law No. 4212 (Y. Riepina) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) – “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 22 OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON ADVERTISING’ REGARDING ADVERTISING FOR ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES AND LIQUIDS USED IN ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES” – the bill prohibits advertising for electronic cigarettes and liquids used in electronic cigarettes.

FOR (+) No. 4212: Decreased consumption of electronic cigarettes and liquids used in electronic cigarettes – this will bring about a reduction of damage to the health of the population.

AGAINST (-) No. 4212: No liability for violating the prohibition of advertising for electronic cigarettes and liquids used in them.

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17. Draft Law No. 4185 (Y. Cherniev) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS’ RIGHTS’ REGARDING WARRANTIES IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT” – the bill provides for the possibility to provide accompanying documents for technically complex household goods, warranty cards in electronic format rather than on paper; it will still be possible to obtain such documents in paper form at the request of the consumer; according to the bill, in the case of warranties in electronic format, the manufacturer must provide for the possibility to register the purchased product on the official website.

FOR (+) No. 4185: Digitalization of business processes; people will no longer have to keep user guides, warranties and other documents in paper form for many years.

AGAINST (–) No. 4185: The implementation of this project will only be possible if the manufacturers themselves switch to electronic versions of such documents and warranty cards; it should be assumed that the registration of purchased goods and the storage of electronic warranties should be provided not on the official website of the manufacturer but on the official website of the seller/maintenance center authorized by the manufacturer in Ukraine, as most industrial companies have no official maintenance centers in Ukraine – they only authorize certain companies in Ukraine to perform repairs of equipment they manufactured.

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18. 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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19. Draft Law No. 4107 (M. Poturayev) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO ENSURE INDEPENDENCE OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF UKRAINE FOR TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING” – improvement of legal norms regulating the procedure for appointing and dismissing members of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting, in particular in compliance with gender principles; establishment of a list of requirements and restrictions for candidates to positions of members of the National Council and to positions in public associations and creative unions that may nominate candidates to positions of members of the National Council; amendments to some other legislative acts of Ukraine on state support for the sphere of culture, creative industries, tourism, small and medium business in connection with the restrictive measures and on the procedure for unscheduled on-site inspections of license holders.

FOR (+) No. 4107: Strengthening the institutional independence of the National Council, improving the reporting of the National Council to the appointing entities – the President and the Verkhovna Rada; expanding the list of requirements for candidates; simultaneous appointment of members to all vacant positions in the National Council.

AGAINST (–) No. 4107: The possibility of early termination of powers of the entire National Council if its annual report is not approved; gender-based preferences in appointment of members – this may be at odds with the Constitution; corruption risks associated with the criterion for selection of candidates to positions of members of the National Council as “eminent persons in the sphere of television and radio broadcasting”; holding meetings of the National Council without the participation of license holders and limiting the time for notifying them of the hearing; expansion of the staff of the National Council and higher salaries of members of the National Council will require a significant increase in State Budget spending.

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20. Draft Law No. 4278 (O. Sova) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE TAX CODE OF UKRAINE (REGARDING TAXATION OF GOODS TRANSFERRED (SENT) BY INTERNATIONAL MAIL AND EXPRESS MAIL) – the bill enhances the basis for value-added taxation of transactions related to bringing into the customs territory of Ukraine of goods sent by international mail and express mail to an individual recipient from 100 to 150 Euros; it establishes that, after the transitional period, the responsibility for the calculation and payment of the VAT for goods brought into the customs territory of Ukraine by international and express mail will lie with the postal operator or the express carrier if they declare such goods by submitting registers; moreover, the bill establishes the possibility to postpone the payment of the VAT – this must be done within 30 days from the date of execution of the temporary register.

FOR (+) No. 4278: The transparency of exchange of international and express mail; simplification of administering the tax system and improving it; the increase of the non-taxable limit on the value of postal items will counteract shady schemes of transferring goods across the border.

AGAINST (-) No. 4278: Use of the term “registers” in the text of the Draft Law is not accompanied by any explanation as to the specific types of registers implied – this will lead to legal uncertainty; frequent changes to the taxation basis involving taxes and customs dues on goods transferred by international and express mail.

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21. Draft Law No. 4279 (O. Sova) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE CUSTOMS CODE OF UKRAINE (REGARDING IMPOSITION OF CUSTOMS DUES ON GOODS TRANSFERRED (SENT) BY INTERNATIONAL MAIL AND EXPRESS MAIL AND THE PROCEDURE FOR DECLARING THEM) – the bill introduces electronic declaration of international and express mail items through submission by postal operators and express carriers of relevant registers; specifies the information to be entered in such registers; establishes the procedures and the timeframes for submitting them to the customs body; extends the list of goods to alcoholic beverages and tobacco products and specifies the goods prohibited by the law – which may not be transferred by international and express mail addressed to individual citizens.

FOR (+) and AGAINST (-) No. 4279: analogous to the strengths and weaknesses of No. 4278; these two bills need to be considered and adopted “side-by-side.”

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22. Draft Law No. 3403 (A. Kozhemiakin) (second reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 2 OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE LEGAL STATUS OF PROPERTY IN THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE’” – the bill legislatively regulates the transfer of the AFU ammunition to be disposed of to institutions of physical culture and sports which have shooting/biathlon sections.

FOR (+) No. 3403: Free provision of ammunition for shooting/biathlon sections; as a consequence, improved logistics of such departments; saving money, firstly, on the purchase of ammunition for athletes, and secondly, on disposal of the ammunition.

AGAINST (–) No. 3403: No drawbacks.

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23. Draft Law No. 5099 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis, having regard to the proposals of the Committee) “ON ANTI-DOPING ACTIVITIES IN SPORTS” – the bill expands and defines more clearly terms related to anti-doping activities, specifies the status of the National Anti-Doping Center as a specialized state institution organizing and conducting anti-doping control in sports and the status of the Supervisory Board of such center (9 members appointed for a 3-year term – 1 person representing each of the following: the Ministry of Youth and Sports; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Internal Affairs; the relevant Committee of the Verkhovna Rada; 1 athlete who is no longer active, upon submission from the NOC’s Commission of Athletes; the NOC; the National Academy of Sciences; the Committee for Sports; and the National Committee for Sports of the Disabled); forms the Disciplinary Anti-Doping Commission and the Appellate Anti-Doping Commission, the Nomination and Therapeutic Committee and specifies their workflow; provides for the operation of the Anti-Doping Control Laboratory; the Ministry of Youth and Sports will establish a National Anti-Doping Control Laboratory, which will study the effects of doping on the human body, conduct research and development for the purpose of preventing the use of doping; a Supervisory Board will be formed at that laboratory as an advisory body (5 members to be appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers for 5 years based on submission from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the relevant Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, the National Academy of Medical Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv).

FOR (+) No. 5099: Updating the Ukrainian legislation in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and the International Convention against Doping in Sport; introduction at the state level of testing of athletes, research into the impact of doping on humans; no additional spending from the budget will be required – the activities will be financed within the available funding of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

AGAINST (–) No. 5099: Appointment to the Supervisory Board of a person from a specific institute of higher education which is unjustifiably separated from others; the bill contains definitions of terms (doping control, doping in sports, testing, etc.) which are already part of the national legislation, as they are set out in the International Convention for the Suppression of Doping in Sport which was ratified by Ukraine; proposes entrusting the Ministry of Health with informational and explanatory work in the sphere of doping prevention, but in accordance with Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 220 of July 2, 2014, this power is assigned to the Ministry of Youth and Sports; inconsistency of the norm on empowering the Verkhovna Rada Committee to delegate members to the Supervisory Boards.

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24. Draft Law No. 4284 (R. Stefanchuk) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON DE-SOVIETIZATION OF THE LEGISLATION OF UKRAINE” – the bill invalidates the normative legal acts dating back to the Soviet period, recognizes as not applicable in the territory of Ukraine acts of bodies of state power of the USSR – a total of 979 acts, as well as of the Ukrainian SSR – a total of 249 acts, except for their provisions that do not contravene the Constitution and the Law of Ukraine “On Legal Succession”; amends the Code of Labor Laws of Ukraine so as to get rid of Soviet terminology: replaces the term “people’s economy” with “the economy of Ukraine”; “owner” with “employer”; “working person” with “employee”; “higher-level bodies” with “higher in the order of subordination”; “”progressive” technologies with “modern”; removes “atmosphere of intolerance of violations of labor discipline, strict comradely exactingness towards workers performing their labor duties in bad faith”; tasks Ministries and other central executive bodies with the development and approval of relevant normative legal acts. In particular, the Cabinet of Ministers will be obliged to develop and submit for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada Draft Labor and Housing Codes and the Administrative-Delict Code.

FOR (+) No. 4284: Reduction of “the level of littering” of the legislative framework of Ukraine with normative legal acts that are not effective and do not correspond to the modern realities; in execution of the Law, the Housing Code will be updated – it was adopted back in 1983 and society is waiting for its updating.

AGAINST (–) No. 4284: The bill sets January 1, 2022, as the deadline for the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to develop and submit new drafts of the three Codes, which is unrealistic given the complexity of developing codified acts; in the text of the Housing Code, the bill leaves the terms “collective farm,” “Council of People’s Deputies,” “Ukrainian Republican Council of Trade Unions”; according to the preliminary estimates of some experts and scientists, the number of acts of the Ukrainian SSR is as high as 603, the Draft Law proposes excluding only 249; the question arises as to the legal fate of the remaining 354 acts.

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25. Draft Law No. 4156 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE CODE OF UKRAINE ON ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES AND THE CRIMINAL CODE OF UKRAINE TO STRENGTHEN THE LIABILITY FOR VIOLATING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE RADIATION SAFETY REGIME IN AREAS SUBJECTED TO RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION” – the bill criminalizes the respective offense by removing Article 46-1 from the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and adding a new Article 267-1 to the Criminal Code; for violating the requirements of the radiation safety regime, the punishment will be a fine of 17,000 to 51,000 UAH or restriction/deprivation of liberty for a term of 1 to 7 years.

FOR (+) No. 4156: Provision for compliance with the requirements of the radiation safety regime.

AGAINST (–) No. 4156: As a rule, strengthened liability fails to bring about a decrease in the number of respective violations; no appropriate justification for criminalizing the violation the radiation safety regime requirements.

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26. Draft Laws Nos. 5123 (S. Kuzminykh) and 5123-1 (T. Plachkova) (first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 5123-1 be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE CODE OF UKRAINE ON ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES TO ESTABLISH LIABILITY FOR THE SALE (RELEASE) OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS TO MINORS” – the bill establishes a fine in the amount of 6,800–13,600 UAH for selling (including through the Internet) and for delivery of pharmaceutical products to minors; and if such offense is committed by a person previously held liable for a similar offense, the amount of the fine will be 13,600–23,800 UAH; the consideration of such cases is entrusted to courts, while police officers are authorized to prepare relevant administrative materials.

FOR (+) No. 5123: Restriction of children’s access to life-threatening pharmaceuticals.

AGAINST (–) No. 5123: Absence of a comprehensive approach and explanatory work to prevent situations of uncontrolled abuse of medications by minors; pharmaceuticals include antiseptics, vitamins and other products that are completely safe for children; the bill is in fact a derivative of No. 5122, which establishes prohibition on the sale of pharmaceutical products to minors and so it is deemed appropriate to consider them together.

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27. Draft Law No. 3200 (O. Bondarenko) 3200-1 (S.Litvinenko) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO IMPROVE THE LEGISLATION IN THE SPHERE OF HUNTING INDUSTRY AND HUNTING AND PREVENTING ILLEGAL HUNTING” – the hunting quotas and norms for even-hoofed mammals during the hunting season will be established by local self-government bodies in coordination with the local branch of the State Forestry Agency based on proposals from the hunting grounds users themselves; the bill prohibits the use during a hunting session of optoelectronic devices and night vision devices; establishes the procedure for the calculation of the amount to be paid for using hunting grounds (for 1 hectare: forests, 10% of the non-taxable minimum salary; fields, 8%; wetlands, 5%); designates local self-government bodies as the receiver of the funds paid for using hunting grounds; establishes the maximum limits for the number of hunted animals included in the State Hunting Fund; provides for an approximately tenfold increase in the amount of hunting ground users’ contributions to the implementation of comprehensive measures aimed at restoration of game animals, preservation and improvement of their living environment; increases administrative liability for violating the hunting rules; strengthens criminal liability for conducting illegal hunting; and increases the mandatory contributions to comprehensive measures aimed at restoration of the hunting environment.

FOR (+) No. 3200: Establishing the procedure for the calculation of the payment for using hunting grounds; increased local budget revenues; providing local self-government bodies with wider opportunities for implementing measures to protect the State Hunting Fund; strengthened administrative liability for violation of hunting rules and criminal liability for conducting illegal hunting.

AGAINST (–) No. 3200: The daily shooting quota of one hunter implies killing a lot more animals than allowed by the quota established for the entire hunting season; the bill regulates issues that are normally dealt with in secondary legislation, e.g. quotas for the number of hunted animals.

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28. 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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29. Draft Laws Nos. 4555 (Cabinet of Ministers) and 4555-1 (N. Korolevska) (first reading; the Committee proposes that No. 4555 be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE STATUS AND SOCIAL PROTECTION OF CITIZENS AFFECTED BY THE CHORNOBYL DISASTER’ TO INCREASE THE LEVEL OF PENSION SUPPORT FOR CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF PERSONS” – the bill specifies the conditions for the calculation of pensions for participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, other nuclear accidents for which a causal relationship is established between such accident and a person’s disability; the bill proposes that an additional pension be paid for injury to health and a monthly compensation to families for the loss of their breadwinner as a result of the Chornobyl disaster, regardless of income; the payment may not exceed 10 times the minimum subsistence level established for persons who have lost their ability to work. The payments will be made by the territorial branches of the Pension Fund of Ukraine.

FOR (+) No. 4555: Social guarantees are established for persons affected by the Chornobyl accident.

AGAINST (–) No. 4555: The amount to be spent from the State Budget in 2021–2023 is 2,940,000,000 UAH; the Ministry of Finance considers the bill to be financially unfeasible.

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30. Draft Laws Nos. 4668 (Cabinet of Ministers) and 4668-1 (N. Korolevska) (first reading; the Committee has not considered these bills yet) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO IMPROVE THE PENSION LEGISLATION” – the bill establishes March one as the date for the annual indexation of pensions; adds servicepersons, public servants and scientists; to the list of individuals entitled to pension indexation on the general terms grants early pensions 1.5 years before the onset of retirement age to persons dismissed due to incompatibility with their position for health reasons, provided that they have sufficient length of insurance, and to persons dismissed in connection with changes in the organization of production. A parent raising children with a severe, rare disease who have not been diagnosed with a disability will also be entitled to an early retirement pension. The bill increases the age limit for identifying a child as a person with a disability from childhood from 16 to 18 years. Disabled family members can also include a husband/wife/father/mother who has attained the age of 65. The bill eliminates the difference in the amount of benefits for the same length of later retirement.

FOR (+) No. 4668: The bill regulates the issues of indexation payment and defining equal conditions for its granting; increases the material support for families raising a seriously ill child who has not been diagnosed with a disability.

AGAINST (–) No. 4668: The initiators of the bill rely on the expected GDP growth rather than on the available budget resources; the bill will require additional spending of 0.5 billion UAH.

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31. Draft Resolution No. 4488 (Cabinet of Ministers) “ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LIMITS OF THE TOWN OF POPASNA, SIEVIERODONETSKYI RAYON, LUHANSK OBLAST” – the bill establishes the limits of the town of Popasna, inasmuch as they have not been established and legally entrenched.

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32. Draft Resolution No. 2715 (A. Klochko) “ON RENAMING THE VILLAGE OF MARMUZOVYCHI, BUSKYI RAYON, LVIV OBLAST” – the bill proposes renaming the village of Marmuzovychi to Andriyivka.

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33. Draft Resolution No. 5075 (A. Klochko) “ON RENAMING THE VILLAGE OF BOLHARKA, BERDIANSKYI RAYON, ZAPORISHIA OBLAST” – the bill proposes renaming the village of Bolharka to Sofiyivka.

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34. Draft Resolution No. 5077 (A. Klochko) “ON RENAMING THE VILLAGE OF STARYI CHORTORYISK, KAMIN-KASHYRSKYI RAYON, VOLYN OBLAST” – the bill proposes renaming the village of Staryi Chortoryisk to Chartoryisk.

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35. Draft Resolution No. 5078 (A. Klochko) “ON RENAMING THE VILLAGE OF KHYMCHYN, KOSIVSKYI RAYON, IVANO-FRANKIVSK OBLAST” – the bill proposes renaming the village of Khymchyn to Khimchyn.

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36. Draft Resolution No. 5079 (A. Klochko) “ON RENAMING THE VILLAGE OF POMYNYK, UMANSKYI RAYON, CHERKASY OBLAST” – the bill proposes renaming the village of Pomynyk to Kalynivka.

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37. Draft Resolution No. 5081 (A. Klochko) “ON RENAMING THE URBAN-TYPE SETTLEMENT NOVHORODSKE, BAKHMUTSKYI RAYON, DONETSK OBLAST” – the bill proposes renaming the urban-type settlement Novhorodske to urban-type settlement New York [Nyu-York].

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38. Draft Resolution No. 5082 (A. Klochko) “ON RENAMING THE VILLAGE OF KYIDANTSI, KOLOMYISKYI RAYON, IVANO-FRANKIVSK OBLAST” – the bill proposes renaming the village of Kyidantsi to Kidanch.

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39. Draft Law No. 0085 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON WITHDRAWAL FROM THE AGREEMENT ON THE MAIN DIRECTIONS OF COOPERATION OF MEMBER STATES OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES IN THE SPHERE OF PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS’ RIGHTS” – the bill proposes withdrawing from the Agreement “On the Main Directions of Cooperation of Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the Sphere of Protection of Consumers’ Rights.” The Draft Law was developed in execution of Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 139 dated May 19, 2018, “On Decisions of the National Security and Defense Council of May 2, 2018, ‘On Termination for Ukraine of Certain International Agreements Concluded within the Framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States’.”

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40. Draft Law No. 0088 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON WITHDRAWAL FROM THE AGREEMENT ON COOPERATION IN THE SPHERE OF LEGAL PROTECTION AND DEFENSE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND CREATION OF AN INTERSTATE COUNCIL ON LEGAL PROTECTION AND DEFENSE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY” – the bill proposes withdrawing from the Agreement “On Cooperation in the Sphere of Legal Protection and Defense of Intellectual Property and Creation of an Interstate Council on Legal Protection and Defense of Intellectual Property.” The adoption of the bill will be instrumental in bringing the international treaty framework within the CIS in compliance with the current state of relations among the member countries.

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41. Draft Law No. 0091 (President) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON ACCESSION OF UKRAINE TO THE INTER- AMERICAN CONVENTION ON SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS” – the bill proposes accession to the Inter-American Convention on Support Obligations; this will be instrumental in regulating the issue of collection of support in cases when persons entitled to receive support and persons obliged to provide support live in Member States to the Convention, for example the issue of enforcement of decisions on collection of alimony.

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42. Draft Law No. 0092 (President) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole “ON RATIFICATION OF THE CONVENTION ON CHOICE OF COURT AGREEMENTS” – the bill proposes ratifying the Convention on Choice of Court Agreements; it will be conducive to recognition and enforcement in foreign states of judicial decisions delivered by Ukrainian courts and will ensure recognition and enforcement in the Member States of decisions in civil and economic cases delivered by courts specified in an agreement on choice of court.

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43. Draft Laws No. 2683 (H. Tretiakova), 2683-1 (N. Korolevska) (first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 2683 be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE REGARDING THE accumulative system of state pension insurance” – the bill provides for mandatory participation in the system of accumulative pension insurance of all categories of employed persons until they reach retirement age and involving employers in the payment of pension contributions on a parity basis; the employers will pay 2% of employees’ salaries and the system participants (employed persons) will pay contributions amounting to 1% of their salaries; at the request of an employee, the amount of his/her independent contributions can be increased to 4%; the employer will be obliged to proportionally supplement the employee’s contributions with the employer’s own contributions at the rate of up to 5% of the salary of such employee; the funds of the accumulative system will be the property of the participants in the system (persons from whose salaries deductions are made) – as regards the total amount accumulated in each person’s individual pension account; and in the event of a person’s death the right of ownership of the pension savings will pass to his/her heirs; the funds will be accumulated in the Pension Treasury or in the relevant non-state pension funds; the costs of payment for life insurance contracts and one-time payments will be covered; asset management of the Pension Treasury will be carried out by asset management companies, assets will be stored by custodian banks; authorization of such custodian companies, non-state pension funds, administrators and insurance companies will be carried out by including them in the Register of Authorized Entities of the Accumulative System of State Pension Insurance, provided that such entities comply with the requirements established by the law; a participant in the system will have to choose the pension portfolio of an authorized asset management company of the Pension Treasury or an authorized non-state pension fund and will have the right to change the choice.

FOR (+) No. 2683: Decrease in the amount of funds allocated from the State Budget for covering the Pension Fund deficit (in 2021, the amount was about 200 billion hryvnias); increase in the level of social protection of persons of retirement age; increase in the size of the future pension due to additional pension payments; transparency and independent control by citizens of the amount of accumulated funds that are their property and that they will be entitled to receive after reaching retirement age (or their heirs will have the right to receive the amount); legalization of labor and the gradual abolition of salaries “in envelopes”; additional financial resources for the implementation of long-term investment projects in the economy.

AGAINST (–) No. 2683: Low level of public confidence in long-term accumulative systems; lack of a clear mechanism of state guarantees for pensioners to receive the accumulated funds; threat of corrupt interest in the disposal of savings or their stealing or inefficient use; the possibility of inflationary depreciation of funds.

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44. 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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45. Draft Laws Nos. 3033а (V. Novynskyi) and 3033а-1 (N. Korolevska) (first reading; the Committee recommends that both bills be returned to their authors) ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE REGARDING ADDITIONAL GUARANTEES FOR THE RIGHTS OF PEDAGOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC-PEDAGOGICAL WORKERS DURING THE PERIOD OF THE QUARANTINE OR RESTRICTIVE MEASURES RELATED TO THE SPREAD OF THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19” – the bill provides that contracting of COVID-19 by pedagogues and scientific-pedagogical workers when they perform their duties will be classified as a professional disease; establishes that all such employees of state or communal institutions must be insured against the disease; also, additional payments to the salaries of such employees are established, amounting to 100% of the salary, for the period of implementation of measures aimed at combating the pandemic; it is proposed that the additional payments be funded from “the COVID fund.”

FOR (+) No. 3033а: The bill establishes additional social guarantees for pedagogical workers.

AGAINST (–) No. 3033а: The difficulty of proving that the contracting of COVID-19 by a pedagogical or scientific-pedagogical worker is related to the performance of his/her professional duties; lack of financial support for the implementation of the bill.

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46. Draft Laws 3077 and 3077-1 (1st reading, the Committee recommends that both bills be returned to their authors) ON INTRODUCING CHANGES TO THE LAW OF UA "ON EDUCATION" TO PROVIDE FOR THE PROTECTION OF LANGUAGE RIGHTS OF NATIONAL MINORITIES – the bill grants the status of educational process languages to regional languages and languages of national minorities.

FOR (+) 3077: can have a social effect within national minorities and indigenous peoples.

AGAINST (-) 3077: decrease in the extent of education provided in the state language, i.e. Ukrainian; the Constitutional Court of UA found that the norms which are proposed to be changed do comply with the Constitution of UA (i.e. that they are constitutional).

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47. Draft Law No. 3257 (V. Koliukh) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be returned for revision) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON SCIENTIFIC AND SCIENTIFIC-TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES’ TO REGULATE SCIENTIFIC- ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES” – the bill proposes regulating the specifics of functioning of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine (below, NAAU) in a way analogous to how the Law of Ukraine ‘On Education’ defines the specifics of functioning of the system of artistic education; the bill provides a definition for the term “scientific-artistic direction of scientific and scientific-technical activities.”

FOR (+) No. 3257: Reforming the scientific sphere and regulating the specifics of functioning of NAAU and prevention of its liquidation.

AGAINST (–) No. 3257: The bill will create an uneven playing field for other sectoral academies, none of which has separate provisions in a Law on the specifics of its functioning.

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48. Draft Laws 3430 and 3430-1 (1st reading, the Committee recommends that both bills be returned to their authors) ON INTRODUCING CHANGES TO THE LAW OF UA "ON UNIVERSAL GENERAL HIGHER EDUCATION" TO RENEW THE RIGHTS OF EDUCATIONAL PROCESS PARTICIPANTS – the bill proposes the exclusion of the norm according to which permanent labor contracts with directors and teachers of state- and municipally-owned institutes of general secondary education be terminated after those persons have reached the age of retirement and are entitled to a pension; and conclusion with them of contracts for one to three years.

FOR (+) 3430: protection of the rights of a particular category of teachers,

AGAINST (-) 3430: need for additional financing from the State Budget without specifying the respective sources.

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49. Draft Law No. 4665 (Y. Tymoshenko) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be returned to its author) “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 32 OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON COMPLETE GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION’ REGARDING ACCESSIBILITY OF COMPLETE GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION” – the bill removes the provision on the impossibility of creation of lyceums (10th-12th grade classes) by local self-government bodies of populated localities with a population less than 50,000, as well as “on the basis of schools” with less than four 10th grade classes; excludes rayon councils from the list of entities providing for the development (deciding on the formation, reorganization, liquidation or repurposing) of the network of communal primary schools and gymnasiums.

FOR (+) No. 4665: The bill will provide for the territorial accessibility of complete general secondary education in populated localities with less than 50,000 residents.

AGAINST (–) No. 4665: The bill is at odds with Part two, Article 66 of the Law of Ukraine “On Education.”

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50. Draft Law No. 4682 (Y. Boiko) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be dismissed) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO ENSURE THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT OF CITIZENS OF UKRAINE TO OBTAIN GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION” – the bill guarantees the obtainment of complete secondary education (previously, primary/basic education was guaranteed) in accordance with the principle of territorial accessibility; entrusts the development of the network of communal primary schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, inter alia, to oblast councils; defines the terms “primary school,” “gymnasium,” “lyceum”; entrusts the military-civil administrations with deciding on the creation, reorganization, liquidation or repurposing of institutes of general secondary education.

FOR (+) No. 4682: Expansion of the network of educational institutions providing complete general secondary education.

AGAINST (–) No. 4682: A basic institution of general secondary education will provide not only primary and basic secondary education, but also specialized secondary education, which will require the allocation of additional budget funds; the bill envisages that educational institutions can be both separate legal entities and structural subdivisions of other institutions; it is not clear from the bill, however, what type of institutions is implied; the bill partially rolls back the reforms of the New Ukrainian School.

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51. Draft Law No. 5131 (D. Solomchuk) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be dismissed) “ON AMENDING THE CODE OF UKRAINE ON ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES TO STRENGTHEN LIABILITY FOR VIOLATING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LEGISLATION OF UKRAINE ON PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS” – the bill establishes a fine in the amount of 6,800–13,600 UAH for the sale of pharmaceuticals to persons who have not attained the age of 14; the consideration of such cases is entrusted to the State Drugs and Medications Control Service; the Chief State Inspector of Ukraine for Quality Control of Medications and the Inspector’s deputies are authorized to prepare relevant administrative materials.

FOR (+) No. 5131: Restriction of children’s access to life-threatening pharmaceuticals.

AGAINST (–) No. 5131: Absence of a comprehensive approach and explanatory work to prevent situations of uncontrolled abuse of medications by minors; the practical impossibility to enforce, within the framework of this bill, the ban on the purchase of pharmaceuticals in the Internet; pharmaceutical products include antiseptics, vitamins and other products that are completely safe for children and so the ban on the sale of all pharmaceutical products does not look quite logical.

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52. Draft Law No. 3918 (H. Kasai) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be returned to its author for revision) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO IMPROVE THE LEGISLATION IN THE SPHERE OF COMPLIANCE WITH WEIGHT SAND DIMENSION NORMS” – the bill entrusts the resolution of issues related to granting permission to drive on motor roads of Ukraine when exceeding the weight or dimensions restrictions in the process of transporting goods exclusively to the Unified Settlement Center, which is a structural unit of the Ministry of Infrastructure. The USC will receive in contactless form requests for such transportation, automatically determine the route for the transportation and issue an invoice for the payment of the fee, as well as redistribute the paid amounts between road owners in accordance to the specified route and the proportional distance that will be covered by the vehicle; such permission must be issued separately for each shipment for the entire route with the obligatory indication of the consignor, consignee, points of loading and unloading, name of the cargo and its quantity; the information will be duplicated in each consignment note; during domestic shipments, the consignor, carrier and consignee will be prohibited from exceeding the statutory weight or dimensions norms.

FOR (+) No. 3918: The bill introduces procedures for granting permission to drive on motor roads of Ukraine when exceeding the weight or dimensions restrictions in the process of transporting goods when transporting goods; increase in revenues of road management bodies of Ukraine.

AGAINST (–) No. 3918: Absence of a clear definition of the organizational and legal status of the USC, the source of funding for the creation of the center and for its activities; there is no provision as to when the Law will come into force.

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53. Draft Law No. 5017 (D. Natalukha) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as the basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON SPACE ACTIVITIES’ REGARDING DETERMINATION OF THE STATUS AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS AMONG CENTRAL EXECUTIVE BODIES IN THE SPHERE OF SPACE ACTIVITY” – the bill specifies the powers of the Ministry for Strategic Industries , which will consist in performing oversight of : space activities under the jurisdiction of Ukraine; implementation of measures of a targeted scientific and technical space program; preparation and implementation of international projects in the sphere of research and use of outer space; the state of Ukraine’s foreign economic relations with other states in the sphere of space activities; at the same time, the following powers are vested in the State Space Agency : state oversight of compliance by privately owned entities of the legislation on space activities in Ukraine; creation and operation of ground and space segments of satellite communication, broadcasting and remote Earth sensing systems; ensuring the operation, maintenance and improvement of space activity objects; registration of declarations on performance of economic activity in the sphere of space activity; organization of the development and functioning of the Space Technology Certification System of Ukraine; registration of space technology.

FOR (+) No. 5017: Bringing the Law of Ukraine “On Space Activity” in compliance with the requirements of national and international legislation in the sphere of space activity; clear separation of powers between bodies of authority in the sphere of space activity.

AGAINST (–) No. 5017: The bill will not resolve the problem of “lack of regulation” of the space sphere; moreover, it is at odds with the general principles of construction of central executive bodies; it is unclear why it should be necessary to remove from the text of the Law the powers of space intelligence bodies.

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54. Draft Law No. 5010 (D. Natalukha) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE SECTION ‘FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS’ OF THE CODE OF UKRAINE ON BANKRUPTCY PROCEDURES TO PREVENT NEGATIVE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF BAD FAITH BANKRUPTCY OF ENTERPRISES AS A RESULT OF THE MILITARY AGGRESSION IN THE EAST OF UKRAINE” – the bill establishes that temporarily, for the period of the ATO, legal entities whose property and assets are in the occupied territory or in the ATO territory and which have been re-registered in the territory controlled by Ukraine will be denied the initiation of court proceedings in a bankruptcy case, and that previously initiated proceedings in bankruptcy cases will be terminated, except in cases when the application for initiation of proceedings was filed by a debtor which is a legal entity.

FOR (+) No. 5010: Stopping a possible wave of bankruptcies resulting from creditors’ bad faith intentions.

AGAINST (–) No. 5010: Violation of the legitimate rights of creditors; the bill does not take into account the real financial situation of enterprises from the temporarily occupied territories and so it opens the way to abuse; the introduction of a moratorium on bankruptcy proceedings will lead to violation of the Constitution and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights; the bill fails to take into account that the ATO (anti-terrorist operation) ended in April 2018 and now a Joint Forces Operation is underway.

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55. Draft Law No. 3111 (D. Volodina) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON BRINGING THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 161 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF UKRAINE ON ENSURING THE EQUALITY OF CITIZENS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE” – the bill specifies the grounds for criminal prosecution, in particular for actions and failure to act in case of incitement to ethnic, religious, linguistic, or cultural hatred (intolerance).

FOR (+) No. 3111: Ensuring equality of citizens.

AGAINST (–) No. 3111: The bill requires terminological alignment and corrections.

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56. Draft Law No. 2289 (O. Tarasov) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 4 OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON PERSTICIDES AND AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS’ REGARDING IMPORT OF PESTICIDES INTO THE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF UKRAINE” – the bill rules out mandatory documentary confirmation of state registration of pesticides and agricultural chemicals in the manufacturing country – in case of importing and using their pilot batches in Ukraine for their official testing and scientific research; also, the bill allows using leftover pesticides and agricultural chemicals the registration period of which has expired.

FOR (+) No. 2289: Providing Ukrainian farmers with opportunities to use state- of-the-art plant protection technologies rather than those that were new 4-5 years ago; increased productivity of agricultural crops; simplification of the procedure for bringing new, experimental batches of pesticides to Ukraine for official testing and scientific research; support for the European Business Association and the US Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.

AGAINST (-) No. 2289: The risk of negative impact of leftover chemicals during their transportation or sale; possible fraud related to production of fake agricultural chemicals and pesticides; formal Opinion of the Committee on European Integration that the bill fails to comply with EU law, the Association Agreement, and Ukraine’s WTO obligations.

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57. 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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58. Draft Law No. 4486 (R. Stefanchuk) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE REGARDING THE ‘NATIONAL’ STATUS AND EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF INSTITUTES OF EDUCATION AND STATE PROPERTY” – the bill regulates the use of property by state and municipal institutes of education – annual property control and accounting by the managerial body; the possibility to transfer property to another institute – and to privatize such property in case it has not been used for 3 years.

FOR (+) No. 4486: Regulation of the network of education institutes, of the procedure for state and municipal property management (lease, free-of-charge use, privatization, etc.); development of the educational potential.

AGAINST (-) No. 4486: nonconformity of the Draft Law’s provisions with Article 80 of the Law “On Education” according to which objects and property of state and municipal institutes of education may not be privatized or used for non- educational purposes.

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59. Draft Resolution No. 4105 (R. Kostenko) “ON THE CREATION OF A TEMPORARY INVESTIGATION COMMISSION OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE TO INVESTIGATE FACTS, MENTIONED IN MASS MEDIA REPORTS, OF POSSIBLE ILLEGAL ACTIONS BY OFFICIALS THAT COULD LEAD TO AVOIDANCE OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY BY MEMBERS OF ‘WAGNER PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANY’ AND CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE NATIONAL INTERESTS OF UKRAINE” – it is proposed that the TIC include R.O. Kostenko from the Holos faction (Head of the TIC), O.O. Honcharenko from the European Solidarity faction, and S.M. Yevtushok from the Batkivshchyna faction.

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60. Draft Resolution No. 5243 (D. Arakhamia) “ON THE CREATION OF A TEMPORARY INVESTIGATION COMMISSION OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE ILLEGAL ACTIONS OF REPRESENTATIVES OF STATE AUTHORITIES AND OTHER PERSONS WHICH FACILITATED THE VIOLATION OF STATE SOVEREIGNTY AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY AND THREATENED THE NATIONAL INTERESTS AND SECURITY OF UKRAINE” – the draft proposes electing to the TIC – from the Servant of the People faction: M.V. Bezuhla (Head of the TIC), M.V. Mysiahin, V.Y. Bezghin, O.O. Merezhko, O.M. Zvitnevych, O.S. Zhmerenetskyi, S.A. Yurash, and O.V. Khomenko); from the Opposition Platform – For Life: N.I. Shufrych (Deputy Head of the TIC); from the Dovira group: M.V. Loshniak; and from the group For the Future, I.V. Huz.

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61. Draft Law No. 5094 (O. Kondratiuk) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as the basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO IMPROVE THE LEGISLATIVE REGULATION IN THE SPHERE OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING” – the bill establishes criteria and requirements for identification of advertising; determines the requirements for the placement of social advertising; expands the list of requirements and restrictions on the placement of outdoor advertising; establishes prohibitions on its placement; regulates the procedure for placing advertisements on vehicles; establishes a single procedure for placing outdoor advertising, implementation of permitting procedures and issuance/refusal to issue permits for outdoor advertising; also, the bill provides for : the introduction of an open electronic information database on outdoor advertising; the development and implementation of a design code of populated localities; the development and implementation of schemes for placement of outdoor advertising; establishes a clear and transparent procedure for removing unauthorized advertising media; coding of each advertising medium with a two-dimensional bar code containing information about the owner and the design; provides that that the designing, construction and remodeling of complex outdoor facilities will be carried out with consideration for the schemes of placement of outdoor advertising.

FOR (+) No. 5094: The bill provides for modernization of the outdoor advertising sphere; improves the road safety situation by establishing requirements for placement of advertisements along motorways.

AGAINST (–) No. 5094: A significant part of the proposed norms are cumbersome, oversaturated with regulatory requirements, which is not typical of the texts of laws; this will not only lead to difficulties in making subsequent changes to them but will also provide for the use, in the process of application of the norms, of the principle of tacit consent according to which an economic entity acquires the right to place advertising without obtaining the appropriate document.

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62. 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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63. Draft Law No. 5065 (D. Hetmantsev) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as the basis) “ON FINANCIAL SERVICES AND FINANCIAL COMPANIES” – the bill establishes that a financial service provider must provide information on the full range of financial services being provided, doing so in an easy-to-understand form, without trying to artificially complicate such information; sets out requirements for the dissemination of information on financial services so as to protect the public from false and/or manipulative information; establishes the volumes of data to be received by financial companies and pawnshops and provided by them to the Credit Register of the NBU; the specifics of reorganization of a financial company or a pawnshop; establishes the grounds and the procedure for complete or partial revocation of a license for the activities of a financial company or a pawnshop; the provisions on external audit of financial institutions and the procedure for the National Bank’s interaction with auditing companies; introduces the concept “financial service secrecy” as a simplified analogue of bank secrecy; establishes the regime for its protection and for its disclosure by financial institutions and regulators; expands the jurisdiction of the National Bank’s Credit Register to include other financial institutions; sets requirements for the ownership structure of financial companies and pawnshops, as well as for the licensing of such companies; establishes prohibition on unilateral changes in interest rates and any other payments or the imposition of new payments.

FOR (+) No. 5065: The bill will contribute to the protection of clients from excessive debt burden; provide for the introduction of a new model for regulating the activities of financial companies that takes into account the provisions of EU Directives and the best international practices; it improves the licensing requirements, solvency assessment, corporate governance and risk management systems of financial institutions.

AGAINST (–) No. 5065: The bill provides that the procedure for accounting and preparing financial statements for enterprises belonging to financial institutions or having the right to provide financial services will be established by the National Bank in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, but in respect of banks such procedure will be established by the National Bank on its own; the bill envisages the provision and receipt of information from the Credit Register, which contains confidential information, by financial companies and pawnshops in accordance with the normative legal acts of the National Bank, but access to such data should be determined exclusively by the law; also, the bill provides for the opening of branches of a foreign company for implementing the activities of a financial company or a pawnshop, but the bill should establish a direct ban on the creation of such branches if the controllers of the financial institution are residents of a state recognized as an occupying state and/or an aggressor state.

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64. Draft Law No. 4079 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) – “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES’ TO IMPROVE ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT, REGULATION, RECORD-KEEPING, REGISTRATION, USE AND PRESERVATION OF GEOGRAPHIC NAMES” – the bill regulates the record-keeping, registration, use and preservation of geographic names, specifies and demarcates the powers of state authorities and local self-government bodies and also economic subjects.

FOR (+) No. 4079: Cancellation of the old system; the functioning of the register of geographic names in electronic form will increase its efficiency, create unimpeded and free access to the online version of the register; higher effectiveness of state agencies and local self-government bodies – faster decision-making on establishing and registration of geographic names.

AGAINST (-) No. 4079: Vesting powers of this sort in several bodies, including the power to conduct examinations of proposals and decisions of state agencies, can create certain bureaucratic barriers and will require additional spending from the State Budget.

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65. Draft Law No. 3718 (O. Sanchenko) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) ‘ON THE MAIN PRINCIPLES OF YOUTH POLICY” – the bill brings the youth age down to 29 years (now it extends to 35 years); creates the National Council for Youth Affairs as an advisory body to the Government; empowers the local state administrations and local self-government bodies to create youth councils; regulates the activities of the Ukrainian Youth Fund – a budgetary institution whose activities are directed and coordinated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports; the fund may receive foreign grants, voluntary contributions from individuals/legal entities; the bill proposes creating an extensive network of youth centers; details are provided on the subjects and content of youth work; the possibility to receive preferential long-term loans from the budget for education, construction or purchase of housing; families without children will repay the loan at an annual interest rate of 3%; families with 1 child are exempted from paying the interest; for families with 2 children, 25% of the loan amount will be canceled; and for families with 3 or more children, 50% of the loan amount will be canceled; the bill establishes the organizational and legal foundations for the activities of public associations of youth and children.

FOR (+) No. 3718: Improving the system of functioning of domestic youth policy, the methods and tools for its implementation; strengthening the institutional capacity of public associations of youth and children; a wide range of state support for young people in the form of various benefits; involving young people in the decision-making process.

AGAINST (–) No. 3718: The bill contains norms on public associations of children which should be part of the specialized Law “On Public Associations”; the authority to create state-owned enterprises, institutions and organizations falls within the competence of the Government, not the Verkhovna Rada; the bill provides for a significant network of benefits requiring additional spending from budgets of different levels; imposes additional costs on local self-government bodies and this is at odds with the Constitution.

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66. 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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67. Draft Law No. 3236-1 (D. Hetmantsev) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as the basis) “ON AMENDING THE DECREE OF THE CABINET OF MINISTERS OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE STATE DUTY’” – the bill provides for an increase in the rates of the state duty for commission of notarial actions: a 200-fold increase for notarizing a will; a 50-fold increase for the notary certification of the correctness of copies of documents; a 7-fold increase for notarizing the authenticity of each signature; a 50-fold increase for the issuance of duplicates of notarized documents; and a 166-fold increase for registering marriage or divorce.

FOR (+) No. 3236-1: Additional State Budget revenues.

AGAINST (–) No. 3236-1: An additional financial burden on Ukrainians; a negative social effect in society.

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68. Draft Laws Nos. 3124 (T. Batenko) and 3124-1 (N. Korolevska) (first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 3124 be adopted as the basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE PROTECTION OF CHILDHOOD’ TO ENSURE AN EFFICIENT MECHANISM FOR PROVISION OF STATE SUPPORT TO FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN” – the bill establishes that when determining a family’s total average monthly income which is taken into account for provision of privileges to families with children, the total income will not include any child assistance amount paid: in connection with pregnancy and childbirth; at childbirth; for children to single mothers (parents); for children under custody or guardianship; in case of adoption of a child; assistance to children whose parents avoid paying alimony; social support for persons disabled from childhood and disabled children; pension in connection with the loss of a breadwinner.

FOR (+) No. 3124: Strengthening social protection of large families; improvement of the financial situation of citizens which deteriorated as a result of the imposition of the quarantine measures.

AGAINST (–) No. 3124: Additional spending from the State Budget.

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69. Draft Law No. 4236 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as the basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO STEP UP THE ACTIVITIES OF SCIENTIFIC PARKS” – the bill specifies the legal status of scientific parks (SPs), their organizational and legal form, outlines their tasks and goals; provides for : the autonomy of institutes of higher education and scientific institutions in respect of creating SPs; the right of the SPs to establish areas of activity independently, without the approval of the Ministry of Education and Science; establishes that in case of withdrawal from the list of founders of a higher education institute and/or scientific institution with the participation of which an SP was created the SP must be liquidated; provides the founding higher education institutes and/or scientific institutions with the opportunity to provide premises for the placement of the SP on lease terms, as in the case of budgetary institutions; provides institutes of higher education and scientific institutions established under legislation other than the legislation of Ukraine, as well as private institutes of higher education with the opportunity to participate in the formation of the authorized capital of an SP by contributing tangible and/or intangible assets; according to the bill, the list of SPs’ sources of financing will include grants, credits, and repayable financial aid.

FOR (+) No. 4236: The bill will contribute to overcoming the negative economic effect on SPs of the temporary decline in activity caused by the spread of COVID-19.

AGAINST (–) No. 4236: It is not clear who will develop and approve at a particular stage the SP development program; the bill proposes removing the term “priority directions in the activities of a scientific park” – but that term is subsequently used over and over again in the text of the bill; it is expedient to specify in the bill the minimum share in the company being created of a higher education institute and/or scientific institution for classifying it as a participant in the scientific park.

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70. Draft Law No. 3062 (V. Nekliudov) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE’ TO INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE PUBLIC PROSECUTION BODIES” – the Prosecutor General will be empowered to assign class ranks to employees of public prosecution bodies, to submit to the President proposals regarding assignment of the class rank of State Counsellor of Justice; the size of the rank bonus is to be approved by the Government; also, a pension bonus is provided for; the range of requirements for candidates seeking the office of public prosecutor is expanded (the length of service/internship in a public prosecution body will now be taken into account); in case of dismissal of a public prosecutor, including from an administrative post, the ex-prosecutor may under certain circumstances be deprived of his/her class rank; requirements regarding the form and content of a disciplinary complaint against a public prosecutor’s offense is regulated; employees of public prosecution bodies possessing class ranks will be provided with free uniforms.

FOR (+) No. 3062: Providing incentives for effective work of public prosecutors and stimulating their aspiration for career growth.

AGAINST (–) No. 3062: Additional funding from the State Budget; requirements regarding the length of service in the sphere of public prosecution should be specified in greater detail (so as not to take into account e.g. performance of service functions).

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71. 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-month period may be insufficient to prepare for compliance with the requirements of the Law.

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72. Draft Law No. 3603 (Y. Yatsyk) (second reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURAL CODE OF UKRAINE REGARDING THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS AND INTERESTS OF A CHILD IF THE CHILD’S PARENTS ARE DETAINED OR KEPT IN CUSTODY” – the bill obliges the official who detained a person on the basis of a detention order issued by an investigating judge or a court or under an extradition warrant to immediately notify the respective tutorship and guardianship authority of the fact that the detained person has a child in his/her care and that the child is now left without care, so that the authority will take the necessary measures to provide for the temporary accommodation of the child.

FOR (+) No. 3603: strengthening the social protection of children whose parents were taken into custody.

AGAINST (–) No. 3603: Slow response of tutorship and guardianship authorities to the need to accommodate children whose parents were taken into custody; the current Criminal Procedural Code contains a different separate Article that specifies measures of care for minors.

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73. Draft Law No. 4396 (P. Yurchyshyn) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE ON IDENTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION OF ANIMALS” – the bill establishes unified rules of state oversight and control of the identification and registration of animals in the farms of market operators; specifies the components of the system of identification and registration of animals; provides for the detection, localization, control and elimination of animal diseases; introduces compensation by the state for the cost of identification and registration of animals of individuals and legal entities; envisages the provision of up-to-date information on farm animals, as well as data on their owners, location, movement, sale, slaughter of such animals; introduces an animal insurance system.

FOR (+) No. 4396: The bill brings the legislation in compliance with EU requirements; strengthens state registration and control of the movement of animals, of the epizootic situation in the country as regards dangerous animal diseases; the population will receive safe food products of animal origin; also, the bill increases the competitiveness of the country’s livestock products on the world markets; provides for additional State Budget revenues.

AGAINST (–) No. 4396: Higher cost of services for village residents breeding cattle for personal use of the products; the bill will lead to a reduction of the cattle population because of breeding difficulties or villagers’ unwillingness to implement identification measures and to conduct veterinary and sanitary measures; on the whole, the bill will lead to higher prices for products of animal origin; additional spending from the State Budget on conducting identification and registration of cattle, horses, pigs, sheep and goats bred by individuals and legal entities.

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74. Draft Law No. 4515 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON LAND MANAGEMENT’ FOR UNIFICATION OF SOME TYPES OF LAND MANAGEMENT DOCUMENTATION” – the bill introduces a new type of land management documentation for establishing the boundaries of regime-forming cultural heritage sites; sets out the requirements for the electronic form of land management documentation with the use of a qualified electronic signature; expands the range of persons who can request such documentation; identifies degraded, technologically polluted and unproductive lands that need conservation.

FOR (+) No. 4515: Deregulation in the sphere of development of land management documentation; unification of documentation with removal of irrelevant documents from the list of required documents; simplification of the process of preparation of documentation and reduction of the time spent on such work, which will contribute to preventing corruption risks.

AGAINST (–) No. 4515: Deregulation in the organization and establishment of boundaries of territories of the Natural Reserve Fund may lead to destruction of such zones; granting the right of access to land management documentation to other interested parties (except for state and local self-government bodies, landowners and land users) contains raider takeover risks.

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75. Draft Law No. 4592 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as the basis and as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE REGARDING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE GUARANTEE FUND FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF OBLIGATIONS UNDER GRAIN STORAGE DOCUMENTS” – the bill proposes removing from the Code of Ukraine on Bankruptcy Procedures and the Law of Ukraine “On Grain and Grain Market in Ukraine” the provisions on the activities of the Guarantee Fund for the Fulfillment of Obligations under Grain Storage Documents.

FOR (+) No. 4592: The bill improves the principles of market economy; removes obsolete provisions that are at odds with the current realities and expectations from the functioning of the grain market; revokes provisions that duplicated the functions of oversight bodies subordinated to the Guarantee Fund which was in fact never created; the bill will contribute to reduction of irregularities on the grain market, lower tariffs for grain storage services; economy of State Budget funds; improvement of the investment climate.

AGAINST (–) No. 4592: The bill abolishes the right to certification of grain storage services, which may have a negative impact on grain quality; it would be appropriate to combine the removal from the Law of the provisions on the Guarantee Fund with the creation of an alternative mechanism for ensuring and protecting the rights and legitimate interests of the relevant subjects.

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76. Draft Law No. 4265 (O. Bakumov) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON STATE REGISTRATION OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S GENOMIC INFORMATION” – the bill determines the legal principles for the creation and functioning of record-keeping of genomic information of people in Ukraine; regulates the processes of its selection, processing, state registration, use, storage, including in electronic form, establishing the Ministry of Internal Affairs as the database holder. The category of cases registration of genomic information is mandatory is as follows: persons prosecuted for intentional crimes against the life, health, sexual freedom, or sexual integrity of an individual; unidentified corpses; missing persons; close relatives of missing persons (in case of their voluntary consent).

FOR (+) No. 4265: Faster identification and detection of persons who committed criminal offenses and more efficient search for missing people; identification of unidentified persons; improved performance of law enforcement agencies in preventing, detecting, uncovering, investigating crimes and avoiding criminal offenses.

AGAINST (–) No. 4265: The use and storage of genomic information as personal data is at odds with the 1998 Information Protection Act and the Data Protection Convention; the requirement that army volunteers and conscripts pay for the test themselves.

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77. Проект Закону 4201 (Р.Стефанчук) (друге читання, Комітет рекомендує Draft Law No. 4201 (R. Stefanchuk) (second reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON THE COMPUTATION OF TIME IN UKRAINE” – the bill sets out the legal principles for establishing units of time, computing time in Ukraine; in fact it abolishes seasonal time adjustments and entrenches in Ukraine the national scale of Coordinated Time of Ukraine UTC (UA) which is synchronized with the Universal Time Scale. The time zone established in Ukraine corresponds to the second hour zone of the Universal Time Scale UTC +2. The version submitted for the second reading is formulated in such a way that winter time will remain in Ukraine and there will be no adjustment of the clocks on the night from March 27 to March 28, 2021.

FOR (+) No. 4201: The seasonal “time leap” which is proposed to be canceled has a negative impact on human biological rhythms; setting clocks forward and backward in reality does not contribute to saving energy in any way.

AGAINST (–) No. 4201: Leaving winter time in Ukraine will lead to a situation of a very “early sunrise” in summer, e.g. in Kyiv on June 21 at 03:46 and in Kharkiv at 03:26.

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78. 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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79. Draft Law No. 4552 (A. Osadchuk) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 45 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF UKRAINE TO ADD EXCEPTIONS RELATED TO ACTIVE REPENTANCE) – the bill proposes not relieving persons who have committed corruption crimes from punishment in connection with active repentance.

FOR (+) No. 4552: Impossibility to relieve a person guilty of a corruption crime from punishment in connection with repentance.

AGAINST (–) No. 4552: A non-comprehensive approach to reinstating the anti- corruption infrastructure that was ruined by the infamous decision of the CCU; the same norm is provided for in the President’s Draft Law No. 4651.

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80. Draft Laws Nos. 2713 (M. Zablotskyi), 2713-1 (D. Natalukha), 2713-2 (O. Dubinskyi), 2713-3 (A. Dubnov) and 2713-d (O. Marusyak) (first reading, the Committee proposes that No. 2713-e be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDMENTS TO THE TAX CODE OF UKRAINE REGARDING TAXATION OF INCOME FROM THE ORGANIZATION AND CONDUCT OF GAMES” – Internet and poker games on the Internet in the amount of 10%, for the organization and conduct of gambling in casinos and slot machine halls – 12.5%, for bookmaking – 5%, the issuance and conduct of lotteries – 10%. Income tax will also be paid at a general rate of 18%. Winnings in gambling and lotteries will be exempt from personal income tax and military duty.

FOR (+) No. 2713d: positive impact on the revenue side of budgets by removing from the shadows and legalizing the work of gambling in Ukraine; creating favorable conditions for the payment of taxes through the use of the incentive role of taxation.

AGAINST (–) No. 2713d: violates the principle of equality of taxpayers; provides more favorable conditions for the taxation of lotteries compared to other activities; creates the preconditions for tax evasion.

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81. Draft Law 3563 (1st reading, the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UA REGARDING PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM WATCHING HUNTING – establishes a ban on hunting in the presence of children, and also hunting in the presence of a child is added to the list of violations of rules of hunting; the size of the administrative penalty in the form of a fine in sanctions for violation of hunting rules.

FOR (+) 3563: protection of children from moral suffering arising from watching the killing of animals in the process of hunting; punishment for violations of hunting rules is enhanced.

AGAINST (-) 3563: it is not clear precisely what will be regarded as violation in the form of a child’s presence at the site of hunting; failure in the draft to take into account online demonstrations / watching of videos in the presence of children.

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82. Draft Law No. 3758 (I. Sovsun) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE REGARDING SOME ASPECTS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY” – the bill provides for additional requirements for a person seeking the position of principal of an education institution: mandatory verification of the level of academic integrity of such candidate’s thesis; the bill prohibits persons not subjected to such verification from being appointed to the position of member of the Cabinet of Ministers or to a public service position.

FOR (+) No. 3758: More effective provision of academic integrity in institutes of higher education; reducing the number of “plagiarists” holding top-ranking positions.

AGAINST (–) No. 3758: Compliance with the norms of academic integrity should apply equally to all scientific degree seekers, not just to those applying for certain positions.

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83. Draft Law No. 4548 (Y. Yurchyshyn) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING THE CRIMINAL CODE OF UKRAINE REGARDING LIABILITY FOR DECLARING FALSE INFORMATION AND NON-SUBMISSION OF DECLARATION” – the bill reinstates the sanction in the form of deprivation of liberty (as one of the possible types of punishment) for lying in electronic declarations or failure to submit such declaration; there will be a twofold decrease in the threshold of emergence of criminal liability for declaring false information: down to 2,000 times the minimum subsistence level for able- bodied persons (4,540,000 UAH at present).

FOR (+) No. 4548: Reinstatement of the anti-corruption infrastructure the creation of which evolved over many years under several Presidents and convocations of parliament, practically in the same form in which it was canceled by the infamous decision of the CCU of October 27, 2020; the impossibility of releasing a guilty person from punishment in connection with repentance.

AGAINST (–) No. 4548: The threshold is too high for qualifying declaration of false information as a crime; a non-comprehensive approach to reinstating the anti-corruption infrastructure, since the same norm is provided for in the President’s Draft Law No. 4651.

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84. Draft Law No. 3906 (D. Hetmantsev) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON STATE REGULATION OF THE PRODUCTION AND CIRCULATION OF ETHYL ALCOHOL, COGNAC AND FRUIT ALCOHOL, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND FUEL’ (AS TO LICENSING OF ECONOMIC SUBJECTS PRODUCING ETHYL ALCOHOL” – the bill introduces the concept of “Unified State Automated Information System” – an integrated automated system that provides for continuous control of production; the bill establishes the obligation to install a round-the-clock video surveillance system, software and hardware, automatic means of measuring and accounting for alcohol when obtaining licenses for the production of ethyl alcohol; clarifies the requirements for flow meters; prohibits the implementation of other activities on the territory of the excise warehouse; expands: the list of documents required to obtain a license; the list of grounds for suspension of the license in case of illegal interference in the round-the-clock video surveillance system or of alcohol production without using flow meters, with penalties of 500,000 UAH; the list of grounds for revocation of the license; increases the liability for illegal production of alcohol – a fine of up to 3 million UAH; for illegal wholesale trade – up to 1.5 million UAH.

FOR (+) No. 3906: Proper control in the sphere of production and sale of alcohol; reduction of the illegal market of alcoholic beverages; additional State Budget revenues.

AGAINST (-) No. 3906: Neither the maintenance procedure nor the mechanism for the filling and functioning of the Unified State Automated Information System is specified.

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85. Draft Law 2051-1 (2nd reading, the Committee recommends returning to the second reading) ON LIMITATION OF THE CIRCULATION OF PLASTIC PACKAGES ON THE TERRITORY OF UA – to minimize the circulation of plastic bags and stimulate the production of biodegradable plastic bags prohibits from January 1, 2022 the circulation of oxo-folding bags in retail outlets and restaurants, as well as the free distribution of such packages; assigns the function of recycling plastic bags to businesses that distribute such bags.

FOR (+) 2051-1: prevention of environmental pollution, as one Ukrainian consumes about 500 packages per year, while in Europe it is 85-90 packages per year; entrusting the disposal of plastic bags to the business entity will encourage entrepreneurs to abandon the use of such packages.

AGAINST (-) 2051-1: increase in costs for entrepreneurs and consumers, because the cost of a biodegradable package is greater than a plastic one; possible negative socio-economic effect; exceptional situation when the Committee itself proposes to return for a second reading, which irrationally spends the time of the plenary work of the Verkhovna Rada.

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86. Draft Law 2136 (2nd reading, the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE (REGARDING THE RESTAURANT SPHERE): the word combination “public catering” is replaced with “restaurant sphere”; the amount of fine for violating the restrictions on the sale of beer (except for non-alcoholic beer), alcoholic, low-alcohol beverages, table wines and tobacco products is increased from 6,800 UAH to 10 minimum salaries; voluntary insurance of civil liability of an economic subject in the restaurant sphere is instituted – for possible damage to the lives or health of third parties as a result of carrying on such activities.

FOR (+): to additional expenses from the State Budget or local budgets are required; the bill can lead to increased State Budget revenues resulting from increased fines; children are protected when staying inside establishments in which entertainment activities are being conducted, or inside public catering establishments against negative impact on their physical, mental, spiritual development; mandatory insurance of civil liability of an economic subject in the restaurant sphere for possible damage to the lives or health of third parties as a result of carrying on such activities is replaced with voluntary insurance.

AGAINST (-): the introduction of even voluntary insurance can lead to increased prices in the sphere of restaurant business; the size of financial (penal) sanctions for violating restrictions on the sale of beer (except for non-alcoholic beer), alcoholic, low-alcohol beverages, table wines and tobacco products should be specified as an amount in hryvnias; Article 116 of the VR Rules of Procedure is violated since the Draft Law provides for amendments to the Customs Code and other Laws that were not considered in the first reading.

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87. Draft Law No. 2325 (M. Bardina) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING ARTICLE 73 OF THE CODE OF LABOR LAWS OF UKRAINE” – the name of the state holiday “Day of Defenders of Ukraine” will be substituted for by (literally) “Day of Male and Female Defenders of Ukraine.”

FOR (+) No. 2325: The bill will contribute to paying appropriate tribute to women and men defending the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

AGAINST (–) No. 2325: Spending valuable parliamentary time on very insignificant legislative changes.