«Analysis of the Agenda of the Plenary Meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Due to Take Place on Friday, March 19, 2021, from 10:00 to 14:00 (a total of 76 items, but only 1.5 hours for consideration of the drafts, since the period from 10:00 to 11:00 is the time for the Hour of Questions to the Government, from 12:00 to 12:30 there will be a break, and the period from 13:00 to 14:00 is for inquiries and “Miscellaneous.”» | UberText: lang-uk

Повна версія

1. Hour of Questions to the Government concerning the state of implementation of the plan for vaccination of the population of Ukraine against the coronavirus disease COVID-19.

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1. Draft Law No. 2194 (M. Zablotskyi) (repeat second reading; 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 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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3. 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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4. Draft Laws Nos. 4020 (Cabinet of Ministers) 4020-1 (N. Korolevska), 4020-2 (Y. Kisyel), 4020-3 (R. Pidlasa) (first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 4020 be adopted as a basis) “ON THE LIST OF STATE PROPERTY OBJECTS NOT SUBJECT TO PRIVATIZATION” – No. 4020 proposes approving lists of state property objects not subject to privatization – those are objects providing for energy independence and defensive capacity of the state; natural monopolies whose activities are crucial for society, etc. In particular: 1) list of joint-stock companies whose authorized capital must have no less than 50% + 1 share of corporate rights belonging to the state (9 objects); 2) list of economic partnerships and associations in whose authorized capital the share of the state is 100%, plus state commercial and public enterprises (74 objects); 3) list of objects of culture and sports (133 objects); 4) list of state enterprises that are not subject to privatization but can be transformed into economic partnerships (102 objects); 5) list of forestry objects (341 objects).

FOR (+) NO. 4020: State oversight of the preservation and use of the property of companies and commercial associations not subject to privatization; protection of state property objects that are really important for Ukraine’s development against unjustified privatization or privatization running counter to the interests of the Ukrainian people.

AGAINST (–) NO. 4020: In the list of enterprises that are not subject to privatization but can be transformed into economic partnerships, the size of the state-owned share that must remain in the authorized capital of those entities after such transformation is not specified; Appendix 1 includes NJSC “Naftogaz” and JSC Ukrainian Railways, which implies the possibility of privatization of 50% minus 1 share of those companies, which is not justified at present.

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5. Draft Laws Nos. 4543 (Cabinet of Ministers) (second reading; the Committee proposes that No. 4543 be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING SECTION V ‘FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS’ OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON PRIVATIZATION OF STATE AND MUNICIPAL PROPERTY’ REGARDING PRIVATIZATION OF LARGE PRIVATIZATION OBJECTS” – No. 4543 proposes removing the paragraph imposing a temporary ban – for the period of the quarantine and the restrictive measures to prevent the emergence and spread of COVID-19 – on the holding of auctions for the sale of large privatization objects.

FOR (+) No. 4543: The implementation of preparative, organizational measures prior to the sale of large privatization objects at auctions and the holding of auctions for the sale of such objects will contribute to increased business activities and attraction of investments to the economy of Ukraine; the revenues of the general fund of the State Budget will be increased and the fulfillment of the plan of revenues from privatization will be more likely to occur.

AGAINST (–) No. 4543: Sale of state-owned objects under conditions of the pandemic and the crisis will minimize their value.

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6. Draft Laws Nos. 4020 (Cabinet of Ministers) 4020-1 (N. Korolevska), 4020-2 (Y. Kisyel), 4020-3 (R. Pidlasa) (first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 4020 be adopted as a basis) “ON THE LIST OF STATE PROPERTY OBJECTS NOT SUBJECT TO PRIVATIZATION” – No. 4020 proposes approving lists of state property objects not subject to privatization – those are objects providing for energy independence and defensive capacity of the state; natural monopolies whose activities are crucial for society, etc. In particular: 1) list of joint-stock companies whose authorized capital must have no less than 50% + 1 share of corporate rights belonging to the state (9 objects); 2) list of economic partnerships and associations in whose authorized capital the share of the state is 100%, plus state commercial and public enterprises (74 objects); 3) list of objects of culture and sports (133 objects); 4) list of state enterprises that are not subject to privatization but can be transformed into economic partnerships (102 objects); 5) list of forestry objects (341 objects).

FOR (+) No. 4020: State oversight of the preservation and use of the property of companies and commercial associations not subject to privatization; protection of state property objects that are really important for Ukraine’s development against unjustified privatization or privatization running counter to the interests of the Ukrainian people.

AGAINST (–) No. 4020: In the list of enterprises that are not subject to privatization but can be transformed into economic partnerships, the size of the state-owned share that must remain in the authorized capital of those entities after such transformation is not specified; Appendix 1 includes NJSC “Naftogaz” and JSC Ukrainian Railways, which implies the possibility of privatization of 50% minus 1 share of those companies, which is not justified at present.

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7. 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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8. 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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9. Draft Law No. 4475 (V. Kinzburska) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING SECTION IV ‘FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS’ OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON CONSUMPTION CREDITING’ (REGARDING CREDITS PROVIDED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY)” – the bill provides for mandatory restructuring on the basis of a Law (rather than on the basis of an agreement on restructuring); requires the recalculation of all payment obligations into hryvnias based on the official exchange rate established by the NBU on the day of restructuring; writes off the forfeit (fines, penalties) and the forfeit paid before the restructuring is credited to repay the body of the loan and interest on the loan; the interest rate on the loan used before the restructuring is revised as follows: half of the Ukrainian index of interest rates on 12-month deposits of individuals in the relevant foreign currency; and for periods when the index did not yet exist, half of the NBU refinancing rate; after the restructuring, the rate will amount to the Ukrainian index of rates on 12-month deposits of individuals in hryvnias; after the restructuring, the loan must be repaid within 10 years, the body of the loan will be required to be paid in equal monthly installments; after the restructuring, a three-year ban will be imposed on: compulsory foreclosure on the debtor’s residential property to provide for settling the overdue obligation; registration by the creditor of mortgaged housing as the creditor’s property, sale of mortgaged housing to third parties on the basis of an agreement on satisfaction of the mortgagee’s claims or a relevant clause in the mortgage agreement; these rules are to be applied to all consumer credits granted in foreign currency, which have not been fully repaid.

FOR (+) No. 4475: Protection of borrowers who received consumer loans in foreign currency from abuse by creditors; positive social effect.

AGAINST (–) No. 4475: Preference is given to the protection of debtors regardless of the grounds on which they have failed to fulfill their obligations; the specifics of the restructuring of obligations under foreign currency consumer credit agreements are set out in the draft as permanent rules, although in essence they are temporary; forcible recovery of property is prohibited for 3 years after the restructuring, but the restructuring itself can last up to 10 years; transfer of currency risks to banks only.

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10. Draft Law No. 4398 (T. Tarasenko) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE ON RESTRUCTURING FOREIGN CURRENCY CREDIT LIABILITIES AND ADAPTATION OF THE PROCEDURES FOR INSOLVENCY OF INDIVIDUALS” – the bill provides for the performance of the procedure of bankruptcy without involving a bankruptcy administrator and for the possibility for the establishment by a court of the minimum amount of repayment of debt on a credit; furthermore, it provides that the Deposit Guarantee Fund will make a proposal to a debtor 30 days before the auction to purchase the debtor’s assets for an amount not less than the estimated value; excludes from the liquidation estate the debtor’s property which consists of housing that is the only place of residence of the family.

FOR (+) No. 4398: Positive social effect, protection of the only housing of individuals against foreclosure; opportunities are created for solving the problem of foreign currency credit by paying fixed amounts over a certain period of time.

AGAINST (–) No. 4398: The bill will suspend the moratorium that was imposed by the Law of Ukraine “On the Moratorium on the Recovery of Property of Citizens of Ukraine Pledged as Collateral for Loans in Foreign Currency,” which expires with the entry into force of the Code of Ukraine on Bankruptcy Procedures; the vagueness of the rules in the bill allows the repayment of a debt precisely in an “amount not less than the estimated value of the asset,” which may significantly exceed the real (market) value; this can lead to abuse and corruption risks; the project seems to be targeted at foreign currency borrowers, but it is formulated in such a way that it will apply to all borrowers; providing courts with the discretion to set the minimum amount of payment per month; unlimited maximum timeframe for establishing such minimum payment.

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11. Draft Law No. 4399 (T. Tarasenko) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis, having regard to the Committee’s proposals) “ON AMENDING THE TAX CODE OF UKRAINE (AS TO RESTRUCTURING FOREIGN CURRENCY CREDIT LIABILITIES AND ADAPTATION OF THE PROCEDURES FOR INSOLVENCY OF INDIVIDUALS)” – the bill provides for the recognition of individuals’ debts as bad if such debts remain outstanding when the mortgagee’s claims have been satisfied through acquisition of title to the mortgaged piece of property; also, it provides for exemption from personal income tax on forgiven debt; establishes that the amount of the discount is not an additional benefit, and moreover, income from the sale of residential housing acquired as a result of foreclosure under mortgage agreements secured by foreign currency loans will not be taxed; banks that performed restructuring in accordance with the terms specified in these laws will not adjust the financial result before taxation by the amount of the reduction of the reserves with the gross carrying amount for such existing loans for the amount of partial forgiveness of the loan to be restructured.

FOR (+) No. 4399: Reduction of the tax burden on debtors and optimizing their taxation.

AGAINST (–) No. 4399: The exemption from personal income tax of the entire amount of forgiven debt can be used by individuals to create personal income tax evasion schemes; the bill will have a negative impact on budget revenues at all levels; debt forgiveness should be considered as obtaining a certain material benefit, increasing the taxpayer’s income – and so exemption of the tax payer from taxation is questionable and discriminatory against honest taxpayers who properly fulfill their obligations under loan agreements; the insufficiency of the amount received from the sale of the mortgaged item is not an obstacle to satisfying the claims of the mortgagee at the expense of other property of the debtor, so it is not clear why the project defines this as bad debt – such definition would be fair if it were a situation in which the debtor had no other property.

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12. 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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13. Draft Law No. 2415 (President) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE JUDICIARY AND THE STATUS OF JUDGES’ IN CONNECTION WITH THE ADOPTION OF THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON INTELLIGENCE’” – the bill specifies that a Law can establish exceptions when a court hearing a case is obliged to provide for the holding of a meeting in video conference mode; also, it establishes that, for the purpose of implementing the Law ‘On Intelligence’, the president of a court of appeals will act as an authorized judge and transfer such powers to other judges.

FOR (+) No. 2415: Increased support for intelligence measures based on a court decision; implementation of the specifics of consideration by a court of petitions for permission to carry out intelligence measures.

AGAINST (-) No. 2415: No exhaustive list of cases in which a court hearing in a video conference mode must not be conducted for reasons related to intelligence activities; the term “authorized judge” is neither mentioned nor proposed elsewhere in the legislation; the relationship between the terms “authorized judge” and “investigating judge” is unclear.

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14. 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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15. Draft Law No. 4667-1 (S. Babak) (second reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE ON AWARDING SCIENTIFIC DEGREES” – the bill improves the process of certification of higher education seekers; the attestation of Doctors of Philosophy will be performed by the Permanent Specialized Council at the respective institute of higher education, and Doctors of Arts will be attested on an ad hoc basis; the scientific achievements of individuals, the reviews/feedback on them, the information about the Specialized Council, the date/time/place of defense of the thesis will be published on the websites of the respective central executive body and the institute of higher education; the grounds for refusal to award the degree will be plagiarism, falsification, or fabrication; on the same grounds, it will be possible to deprive a person of a degree already obtained; the Ministry of Education and Science will approve/revoke the decisions of the Specialized Council, endorse the procedure for awarding the degree of Doctor of Philosophy/Sciences and submit it for approval to the Cabinet of Ministers; coordinate the formation of ad hoc Specialized Councils; the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance will develop the procedure for awarding the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and revocation of the decision of an ad hoc Specialized Council on awarding the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

FOR (+) No. 4667-1: A new, improved process of attestation of education seekers, elimination of gaps in the legislation on this issue; inclusion of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance in the certification process; deprivation of diplomas for plagiarism, forgery, or fabrication.

AGAINST (–) No. 4667-1: It is not clear from the content of the provisions whether Doctor of Philosophy is an educational and at the same time first scientific degree or an educational-scientific degree; in the text, the expression “in particular” is used – which does not provide the rules of law with the required legal certainty/

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16. Draft Law No. 3901 (Cabinet of Ministers) (second reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON AUTOMOBILE ROADS’” – a technical bill; in the text, references to Laws that are no longer valid are replaced with references to Laws that are currently in force; also, reference to the Law “On Local State Administrations” is added in connection with road management.

FOR (+) No. 3901: Elimination of technical faults in the current legislation.

AGAINST (–) No. 3901: Waste of limited plenary time on minor bills; no systematic approach to changes.

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17. 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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18. 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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19. 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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20. Draft Law No. 4564 (D. Lubinets) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO ENTERING INFORMATION ON THE REGISTERED PLACE OF RESIDENCE OF CITIZENS OF UKRAINE IN THE TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES IN THE DONETSK AND LUHANSK OBLASTS, THE AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC OF CRIMEA AND THE CITY OF SEVASTOPOL, AS WELL AS THE EXECUTION OF DOCUMENTS IDENTIFYING THE PERSON AND CERTIFYING CITIZENSHIP OF UKRAINE” – in the process of exchange of documents, information on the registered place of residence in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, the AR of Crimea will be entered on the basis of documents certifying registration of the place of residence or information in the document to be exchanged; the execution of documents certifying citizenship of Ukraine, identifying the person or the person’s special status, the photo of a person with a registered place of residence in the temporarily occupied territory in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea who has attained the respective age will be glued into the person’s passport by the State Migration Service at the place where the person has submitted the respective application; the certificate confirming the place of residence of a person who resides in the temporarily occupied territories or resettled from such territory is cancelled since it is no longer relevant.

FOR (+) No. 4564: Legislative regulation of the mechanism for entering information on the registered place of residence of such persons; simplification of obtaining state documents of Ukraine for residents registered in the occupied territories.

AGAINST (–) No. 4564: The Law will not take effect from the day after the day of it publication since the Cabinet of Ministers will be given three months for bringing its normative legal acts in compliance with the Law.

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21. 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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22. Draft Law No. 4651 (President) (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 IMPROVE LIABILITY FOR DECLARATION OF FALSE INFORMATION AND NON-SUBMISSION BY A DECLARANT OF THE DECLARATION OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM THE FUNCTIONS OF THE STATE OR LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT” – 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. 4651: 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 due to repentance.

AGAINST (–) No. 4651: The threshold is too high for qualifying declaration of false information as a crime.

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23. 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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24. Draft Law No. 5064 (A. Motovylovets) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) – “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON STATE ASSISTANCE TO FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN’ REGARDING PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE IN CONNECTION WITH PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH AND EFFECTIVE USE OF BUDGET FUNDS WHEN FINANCING ONE-TIME IN-KIND ASSISTANCE ‘BABY PACKAGE’” – the bill defines the bodies of social protection of the population at the place of residence of parents (adoptive parents, guardians, trustees) as institutions allocating and paying state benefits in connection with pregnancy, sets the cost of the one-time in-kind assistance “baby package” at three times the minimum subsistence level as of January 1 of the respective budget year (previously, the provision specified no less than three times the minimum subsistence level as of the day of provision of the package).

FOR (+) No. 5064: Elimination of legal uncertainty and introduction of a clear mechanism for the payment/provision of assistance in the form of “baby package.”

AGAINST (–) No. 5064: The actual partial reduction in the cost of the “package” for babies born after the subsistence level was increased during the year.

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25. 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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26. 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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27. 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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28. 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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29. 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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30. 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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31. 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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32. Draft Law No. 4279 (O. Sova) (first 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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33. Draft Resolution No. 5210 (M. Poturayev) “ON COMMEMORATION OF THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF MAN’S FIRST SPACE FLIGHT (APRIL 12, 2021) – the bill provides for the creation of an Organizing Committee to prepare and conduct events in commemoration on the state level of the 60th anniversary of man’s first space flight; the plan of commemoration events provides for the holding of ceremonies, the creation of the Supervisory Board of the Communal Establishment “S. P. Korolyov National Museum of Cosmonautics”; inclusion of repair and restoration works on the facilities of the establishment in the Large Construction program; support for the holding in the city of Zhytomyr of the 2nd National Forum “Korolyov. Cosmos. Zhytomyr,” etc.

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34. 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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35. 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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36. 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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37. 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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38. 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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39. 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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40. 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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41. 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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42. 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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43. 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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44. 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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45. 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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46. Draft Law No. 2504 (S. Minko) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be returned to its author) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE STATE REGISTRATION OF LEGAL ENTITIES, INDIVIDUAL ENTREPRENEURS AND PUBLIC FORMATIONS’ TO SIMPLIFY THE STATE REGISTRATION OF ASSOCIATIONS OF OWNERS OF MULTI-APARTMENT RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS” – the bill introduces a simplified mechanism for the registration of changes to information on associations of co-owners of multi-apartment residential buildings (condominiums); there will be no need for notarized signatures when registering condominiums / associations of condominiums or changing information on them.

FOR (+) No. 2504: Saving funds of condominiums on notarization of documents; simplified registration procedure.

AGAINST (–) No. 2504: In Ukraine, raiding (illegal takeover) of condominiums is widespread and so notarization was a certain, albeit small, safeguard against this; its revocation will be conducive to that phenomenon – to violation of ownership rights and fraud and, as a consequence, uproar in society.

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47. Draft Law No. 3410 (R. Pidlasa) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be returned to its author) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE LEASE OF STATE AND COMMUNALLY OWNED PROPERTY’ (REGARDING THE PLACEMENT OF TECHNICAL MEANS OF TELECOMMUNICATION)” – the bill entrenches the use of state and communally owned property as well as the property of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea for access to the infrastructure for the placement of technical means by operators or providers of telecommunications in a way that does not provide for the lease of relevant property; the situation will be regulated exclusively by the Law ‘On Access to Objects of Construction, Transport, Electric Power Engineering for the Development of Telecommunication Networks.”

FOR (+) No. 3410: Regulation of access of mobile communication and telecommunications operators to the infrastructure of state and communally owned objects of construction, transport, electric power engineering, as well as the property of the ARC for the placement of technical means of telecommunications for the purpose of providing telecommunications services; improving the quality of communication and mobile data transmission.

AGAINST (–) No. 3410: The relations in question are not subject to regulation by the Law of Ukraine “On the Lease of State and Communally Owned Property”; so they should not be mentioned in the text of the Law of Ukraine; interference in the use of property without the actual consent of the owner.

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48. Draft Laws Nos. 3033а (V. Novynskyi), 3033а-1 (N. Korolevska) (first reading; the Committee proposes 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 THE RESTRICTIVE MEASURES RELATED TO THE SPREAD OF THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19)” – the bill proposes paying to the pedagogical and scientific-pedagogical workers of state and municipal institutes of education: in the event of contracting COVID-19, no less than 100 times the minimum subsistence level; if a disability group is established within one calendar year and the condition resulted from contracting the coronavirus disease, no less than 300 times the minimum subsistence level; in the event of death of the educator, 750 times the minimum subsistence level. The bill establishes additional payments to the salaries of educators working in pedagogical and scientific-pedagogical institutes of education that are directly involved in organizing the education process, which will amount to 100 percent of the salary, for the period of implementation of measures aimed at preventing the emergence and spread, localization and liquidation of outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics of the coronavirus disease.

FOR (+) No. 3033а: Improved financial status of teachers and lecturers.

AGAINST (–) No. 3033а: Extremely high expenses from the State Budget (about 10 billion UAH monthly); when performing their professional duties, educators are not subjected to additional risk of contracting infectious agents; the impossibility to establish in practice the cause and effect relationship between the disease and the fact of performance by the teacher/lecturer of his/her professional duties.

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

AGAINST (-): 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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50. 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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51. 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 (+): protection of the rights of a particular category of teachers,

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

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52. 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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53. 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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54. Draft Law No. 4210 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be rejected) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO IMPROVE THE DEFENSE PLANNING PROCEDURES” – the bill adjusts the definition of the terms “strategic defense bulletin,” “military security strategy” and “defense review”; establishes that the defense review will be the basis for the development of defense planning documents; specifies the definition and content of the defense planning procedure as a function of state administration.

FOR (+) No. 4210: Introduction of a comprehensive approach to and optimization of planning processes in national security and defense.

AGAINST (–) No. 4210: The norms of the bill are of a technical nature and will not have a substantial impact on the defense sector reform, although, according to the authors, it was developed in execution of the President’s Decree “On Urgent Measures to Conduct Reforms and Strengthen the State.”

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55. Draft Resolution No. 4447 (S. Kalchenko) “ON EARLY TERMINATION OF THE POWERS OF MP OF UKRAINE I. V. KOLYKHAIEV” – the draft proposes early termination of the powers of MP I.V. Kolykhaiev, who was elected mayor of Kherson.

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56. Draft Resolution No. 5012 (S. Kalchenko) “ON EARLY TERMINATION OF THE POWERS OF MP OF UKRAINE O.O. SKICHKO – the draft proposes early termination of the powers of MP O.O. Skichko, the current Head of the Cherkasy OSA.

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57. Draft Law No. 5197 (S. Bunin) (first reading; the Committee recommends ______) “ON AMENDING APPENDICES NOS. 3 AND 4 TO THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE STATE BUDGET OF UKRAINE FOR 2021’ TO SUPPORT THE ACTIVITIES OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRARIAN POLICY AND FOOD OF UKRAINE” – the bill provides for amendments to the State Budget, redistributing funds to the newly created Ministry of Agrarian Policy (an increase of 6.8 billion UAH, in particular 422.3 million UAH to the State Fishery Agency, 1.52 billion UAH to the StateGeoCadaster); at the same time, there will be a decrease in spending for the Ministry of Economic Development (minus 6.4 billion UAH) and the Ministry of the Environment (by 0.4 billion).

FOR (+) No. 5197: Provision for the funding of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, so as to enable the proper functioning of the Ministry after the revocation of the decision to merge it with the Economics Ministry.

AGAINST (–) No. 5197: Inconsistency of State policy: the Ministry of Agrarian Policy was first liquidated and then restored.

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58. 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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59. 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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60. 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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61. Draft Law No. 5058 (P. Frolov) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE CODE OF UKRAINE ON ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES REGARDING IMPLEMENTED RULINGS” – the bill proposes canceling the requirement for sending the ruling on administrative offense to the offender’s postal address if the offender has paid the fine imposed by the ruling within 15 days after its adoption; also, the bill establishes that such ruling will take effect after its service or implementation (i.e. payment of the tine).

FOR (+) No. 5058: Substantial economy of funds of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Parking Inspections of cities of Ukraine on printing and sending the rulings by mail (52 UAH on each ruling); prevention of cases of paying the same fine twice; avoidance of additional stresses for those who have already paid the fine for an administrative offense based on information on the special websites but then received the ruling by mail.

AGAINST (–) No. 5058: The bill reverses the logical connection between the emergence and termination of legal relations – once the ruling has come into legal force, certain legal consequences should follow (payment of fine) and not vice versa.

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62. Draft Law No. 2805-Д (A. Nikolayenko) (repeat first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE REGARDING THE FUNCTIONING AND CIRCULATION OF AGRICULTURAL RECEIPTS” – agricultural receipts are defined as non-issue debt securities in the form of an electronic document in the Agrarian Receipts Register or in non-documentary form, executed as registration entries in securities accounts within the system of depository record-keeping of securities; the range of entities entitled to issue agrarian receipts is expanded; the list of mandatory details of agrarian receipts is updated.

FOR (+) No. 2805-Д: Expansion of the ranges of agricultural producers and creditors using agrarian receipts; investors’ access to information within the Depository System of Ukraine; special requirements for persons wishing to be a creditor/debtor using such receipt.

AGAINST (–) No. 2805-Д: The bill fails to specify the range of persons assuming, together with the debtor, agrarian receipt based solidary liability; narrowing of the influence of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on the activities and functioning of the Agrarian Receipts Register.

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63. 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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64. Draft Law No. 4486 (R. Stefanchuk) (first 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” – institutes of higher education and scientific institutions will be awarded the status of, respectively, “national” and “national scientific center” only by a Decree of the President based on a proposal from the Ministry of Health; 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: The Constitution does not empower the Head of State to award the status of “national” to relevant institutes; 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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65. Draft Law No. 4241 (O. Vasylevska-Smahliuk) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE REGARDING PROTECTION OF DEBTORS WHEN SETTLING OUTSTANDING DEBT” – the bill establishes a set of tools for protecting the rights of indebted consumers in the sphere of consumer crediting and restricts access to the market for potentially unscrupulous collectors; in particular it prohibits making a phone call to a debtor from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., more than twice a day, to inform third parties of the debt, to demand that the debtor’s relatives repay the debt, etc.; defines the term “collector company” and obliges the National Bank to maintain a register of such companies; makes it incumbent on creditors and collector companies to comply with the requirements of ethical conduct and rules of interaction with the debtor, in particular to necessarily specify their company name, last name, first name, patronymic, the legal ground and amount of outstanding debt, provide supporting documents within 7 working days, etc. The punishment proposed for creditors/collectors in case of violation of the law is a fine from 51 to 102 thousand hryvnias.

FOR (+) No. 4241: Strengthening the protection of citizens from illegal methods used by collectors; introduction of a register of collector organizations; providing incentives for collectors’ conscientious work; bringing the market of collection services out of the shadows; providing a clear set of tools to counter the use of illegal methods, including psychological pressure on debtors from self-proclaimed collectors.

AGAINST (–) No. 4241: The regulation of collection activities does not fall within the range of activities of the National Bank in accordance with its functions; the corruption risks in the process of making decisions on determining liability for offenses in the sphere of collection activities.

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66. Draft Law No. 4355 (M. Kriachko) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON THE UNIFIED STATE DEMOGRAPHIC REGISTER AND DOCUMENTS CERTIFYING CITIZENSHIP OF UKRAINE, a person’s identity or special status” – the bill fixes at the level of a Law the definitions of the terms e-passport, e-passport for travel abroad; it establishes that an e-passport or an e-passport for travel abroad is issued for free at the respective person’s request and can be presented in the territory of Ukraine to certify identity and confirm citizenship, except in cases of crossing the state border or entering / leaving the occupied territory of Ukraine.

FOR (+) No. 4355: Extension of user-friendly paper-free services available through the mobile application of the Diia Portal; entrenchment in a Law and extension after 2021 on a permanent basis of the experimental project envisaged by a Government resolution and already used by about 5 million people.

AGAINST (–) No. 4355: The impossibility to use e-passports in cases of crossing the state border and entering or leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine; usage problems in no-Internet situations or lack of special equipment or reading software; it is not specified how the state bodies entrusted with verification of e-passports will carry it out.

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67. Draft Law No. 5009 (A. Herus) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO SIMPLIFY CONNECTION TO ELECTRIC POWER GRIDS” – the bill provides for the development of land management projects to allocate state/communal property for the placement of energy infrastructure objects without having to obtain a permit for its development; application of the principle of tacit consent in case of approval by the authorities of such land management projects and allocation of land plots for use by distribution system operators for the construction and operation of energy infrastructure objects; the period for making changes to information in the State Land Cadaster is reduced to one day; moreover, the bill provides for the liability of officials for late approval or failure to coordinate project documentation; provides for the possibility of building energy infrastructure objects on state/communal lands without their allotment if the construction is carried out in accordance with the urban construction documentation; expands the list of entities that are obliged to publish geospatial data; cancels the requirements of environmental impact assessment during construction and of coordination of materials of topographic and geodetic works with the authorities; the requirement to obtain a permit for disturbance of landscaping in case of construction of energy infrastructure objects is replaced with mandatory notification of the authorities about the start of such works.

FOR (+) No. 5009: The key bill for improving the investment climate in the country; simplification of the procedure for applying for technical specifications; reduction of length of the documentary and authorization procedures required for connection; minimization of contacts with officials - introduction of the “single window” principle for submission and coordination of documents; creation of the possibility of connection on turnkey basis for installations of up to 1 MW; simplification of land allocation procedures.

AGAINST (–) No. 5009: The bill restricts the rights of territorial communities to dispose of communal land plots; fails to solve the problem of energy distribution companies ignoring their obligation to pay for the use of land under electric poles and transformers; provides for the performance of works without a permit to violate the rules of landscaping – this will result in additional spending from local budgets on the restoration of landscaping.

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68. Draft Laws Nos. 4629 (L. Bilozir) and 4629-1 (S. Koleboshyn) (first reading; the Committee recommends that No. 4629-1 be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO IMPROVE THE MECHANISMS FOR THE FORMATION OF A NETWORK OF LYCEUMS FOR INTRODUCING QUALITY SPECIALIZED SECONDARY EDUCATION” No. 4629-1 specifies the terms “basic educational institution” and “safe educational environment”; provides the legal grounds for the functioning of a new state institution that will ensure the provision of educational services to children receiving treatment at in-patient facilities; basic educational institutions will provide for obtaining specialized secondary education (previously, primary and basic education was guaranteed); the norms specifying that the development of the network of municipal institutions of general secondary education is to be provided for by the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and local self-government bodies are removed – now the network of municipal communal lyceums will be planned and ensured by the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea as well as oblast and rayon councils; the bill enables representative bodies of communities of all levels to be the founders of lyceums before the planned date of the full launching of the three-year senior vocational school (i.e. until September 1, 2027); also, the bill obliges the Government to continue allocating subvention in 2021-2030 to local budgets for ensuring quality secondary education under the New Ukrainian School reform project.

FOR (+) No. 4629-1: Continuation of the reform of complete general secondary education; development of the education sphere at the level of territorial communities; creating conditions for obtainment of education by children receiving treatment.

AGAINST (–) No. 4629-1: The bill entrusts the authorities of the AR of Crimea with tasks that they will certainly not be able to fulfill; the implementation of the provisions of the project requires a comprehensive update of the bylaws and so the Law will not start working within the established timeframe; the bill provides that a person undergoing treatment will be taught by an institution authorized by the state, but the legal status of such an institution is unclear.

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69. 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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70. Draft Law No. 4539 (Cabinet of Ministers) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE CONCERNING THE PROVISION OF PRIVILEGES TO CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF CITIZENS OF UKRAINE APPLYING FOR CONSULAR ACTIONS” – the bill establishes privileges in respect of payment of consular fee in foreign diplomatic missions for the issuance of passport of citizen of Ukraine for traveling abroad and for performance of notarial actions in connection with such registration – for persons affected by the Chornobyl disaster, persons with disabilities of 1st and 2nd categories, and children with disabilities.

FOR (+) No. 4539: Strengthening the social protection of vulnerable categories of citizens of Ukraine during their stay abroad; insignificant losses of budget revenues (tentatively, 170,000 UAH).

AGAINST (–) No. 4539: It would be expedient to add the following categories to the list of persons entitled to such privileges: orphaned children, children deprived of parental care, and care providers.

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71. 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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72. 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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73. 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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74. 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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75. 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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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. 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. 4188 (O. Dunda) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis, with regard to the Committee’s proposals) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING’ TO COUNTER THE INFORMATION WAR” – the bill proposes expanding the authority of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting to counter information aggression and providing for sanctions, in the form of a fine or cancellation, based on a court decision, of the broadcasting license, in respect of television and radio broadcasting organizations and providers for dissemination in the national media space of expressions and statements denying the fact “of military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, occupation by the Russian Federation of a part of its territory and waging a hybrid war against Ukraine.”

AGAINST (–) No. 4188: The bill does not fully align with the Law “On the Specifics of State Policy to Ensure the State Sovereignty of Ukraine in the Temporarily Occupied Territories in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.”.

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79. 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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80. 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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81. Draft Law No. 3663 (M. Papiyev) (first reading; the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON MANDATORY STATE SOCIAL UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE’ (NEW VERSION) AND OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE” – the bill provides for unification of the administrative structures of the Social Insurance Fund of Ukraine and of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in order to reduce administrative expenses and to improve the performance of the key functions; designates the Pension Fund of Ukraine as the authorized administrative body in the system of mandatory State social insurance against temporary loss of working capacity and against accidents.

FOR (+) No. 3663: Cost optimization, efficient use of funds, informatization of the insurance system; economy of insurance funds in the amount of about 2 - 3 billion UAH; the possibility to sell surplus property.

AGAINST (–) No. 3663: Inconsistency with the Basics of the Legislation of Ukraine on Mandatory State Social Insurance and the Law of Ukraine “On Mandatory State Pension Insurance.”

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82. Draft Law No. 1013 (President) (the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole, 300+ votes are required) “ON AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE (TO ABOLISH THE MONOPOLY OF THE BAR)” – the bill removes the provision of the current Constitution according to which (1) only a lawyer can represent someone else in court; (2) the law can specify exceptions regarding representation in court in labor disputes, disputes related to protection of social rights, elections and referendums, in minor disputes, as well as regarding representation of minors and underage persons and persons who have been declared legally incompetent by a court or whose legal competence is limited. In fact, the proposal is to get back to the 2016 situation when any persons, regardless of education, profession, and qualification, were allowed to represent someone else in courts of any instance (except in criminal proceedings).

FOR (+) No. 1013: Ensuring the right of everyone to receive professional legal assistance without the monopoly of the bar; reduction of budget spending on lawyers’ services.

AGAINST (–) No. 1013: The risk of an increase in the number of cases of provision of services of inadequate quality; the possibility for persons with no juridical education to practice law in courts; non-lawyers bear no responsibility for their actions, they are not obliged to observe the attorney-client privilege.---

83. 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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84. 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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85. Draft Law No. 3553 (President) (second reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a whole) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE TO IMPROVE SOME ASPECTS OF DISCHARGE OF MILITARY DUTY AND MAINTENANCE OF MILITARY REGISTRATION” – comprehensive amendments to 42 Laws (Codes); instead of military registration and enlistment offices, it territorial centers for recruitment and social support will be formed – with gradual transition from compulsory drafting to voluntary recruitment; the bill establishes that the Unified State Register of Conscripts will interact with other government agencies; strengthens criminal and administrative liability for evasion of conscription, military registration and training sessions; introduces a new type of military service – conscription service of reservists during a special period – for no more than 6 months; creates a system of training of reservists and conscripts.

FOR (+) No. 3553: Wider opportunities to replenish military units during a special period without announcing mobilization; strengthening the combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; additional social guarantees for reservists; automation of processes of military registration of human resources; the possibility to create an electronic military service card within the Diia application with further opportunities for re-registration without participation of military officials.

AGAINST (–) No. 3553: Violation of the rights and freedoms of reservists who already have combat experience – when they are called up for military service without announcement of mobilization at any time during a special period; additional budget spending on the relevant centers and financial support.

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86. 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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87. 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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88. Draft Law No. 2781 (D. Natalukha) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) ON AMENDING THE LAW OF UKRAINE ‘ON TEMPORARY MEASURES FOR THE PERIOD OF CONDUCT OF THE ANTI-TERRORIST OPERATION” – the bill prohibits banks from charging interest on the principal amount of loans to borrowers from uncontrolled territories as long as the anti-terrorist operation is underway; the banks will be obliged to recalculate all debts in accordance with the new provisions; the courts will be obliged to cancel the accrual of fines, penalties and interest on loans of these persons under previously adopted court decisions; the prohibition applies to the period of the anti-terrorist operation plus 12 months after the date of its termination.

FOR (+) No. 2781: Social support for persons affected by the hostilities; reduction of the financial burden on such persons.

AGAINST (–) No. 2781: The bill fails to take into account the fact that the anti-terrorist operation ended in April 2018; debtors are provided with additional levers for evading their obligations; the rights of creditors are significantly and unfairly narrowed; banking institutions will not be provided with any compensation mechanisms as such benefits are introduced – this will lead to losses in the banking system; the proposal to invalidate court decisions is at odds with the Constitution and in fact creates a dangerous precedent when a Law invalidates court decisions without any legal grounds for doing so; such revocations may be appealed to the ECHR.

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89. Draft Law No. 2783 (O. Tarasov) (first reading; the Committee proposes that the bill be adopted as a basis) “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS OF UKRAINE IN CONNECTION WITH THE TERMINATION OF THE ANTI-TERRORIST OPERATION AND THE CONDUCT OF THE JOINT FORCES OPERATION” – the bill prohibits banks from charging interest on the principal amount of loans to borrowers from uncontrolled territories as long as the ATO/JFO is underway; the banks and other financial institutions as well as creditors will be required to cancel the interest accrued on the principal amount of debts under credit agreements, loan agreements and suretyship agreements; the Law of Ukraine “On Temporary Measures for the Period of Conduct of the Anti-Terrorist Operation” will also apply to the conduct of the Joint Forces Operation; a moratorium is proposed on foreclosure of mortgaged property located on the ATO-JFO territory and owned by individuals, private entrepreneurs, or legal entities that are subjects of small and medium-sized entrepreneurship; also, there will be a moratorium on the execution of court decisions in debt collection cases under credit agreements concluded by citizens registered and permanently residing or relocated from the ATO zone in the period after April 14, 2014.

FOR (+) No. 2783: Analogous to the strengths of No. 2781.

AGAINST (–) No. 2783: Analogous to the weaknesses of No. 2781.