Legal policy committee ignored the resolution of the constitutional crisis
The legal policy committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, managed to hold a hearing on consideration of the draft laws aimed at resolving the constitutional crisis only on Nov. 13. The committee did not support any of the proposed draft laws and decided to continue their consideration. The decision means that none of the draft laws would be voted during the upcoming plenary session in the first reading. Thus, the resolution of the constitutional crisis is delayed for several weeks yet again.
However, the committee made the dangerous decision to announce a new competition for the vacant position of judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. However, updated competition procedures are not foreseen. At the same time, civil society organizations call for an open and inclusive process of the selection of judges.
NABU and NAPC urge to restore anti-corruption legislation
The National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention issued statements urging parliament to restore the criminal liability for submitting false e-declarations and related legislation by the end of the year. Otherwise, all those officials who submit the declarations during the upcoming year will avoid liability for stating false information in the declarations of 2020.
Bakanov opposes SBU reform
The head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Ivan Bakanov, criticized the SBU reform draft law developed by parliament for limiting the powers of the service. He defended securing SBU’s redundant powers to investigate economic and organized crime. In fact, such powers contradict Ukraine’s commitment to reform security service under NATO standards. Bakanov accused some “enemy special services” in an attempt to influence the reform of the SBU and claimed the planned weakening of the service. Meantime, human rights activist claim that most of the cases investigated by the SBU does not concern national security issues.
