Ukraine’s Supreme Council of Justice will consider President Petro Poroshenko’s anti-corruption court bill on June 18, according to the president.
The long-awaited anti-corruption court legislation that was passed by parliament on June 7 needs an additional bill from Poroshenko in order to set up the court.
If the decision will be positive, Poroshenko said that he will register the bill in parliament on June 19, according to his press service.
“I really hope that the Supreme Council of Justice will have a positive decision,” the president said.
He will “do everything possible” to launch the court before the upcoming campaign for the presidential election that will take place on March 31 of next year.
It took two years for the parliament to adopt the anti-corruption court legislation. During that time, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank urged Ukraine to stop delaying the process as the creation of an anti-corruption court is one of the main requirements that Ukraine has to meet for the IMF to start disbursing the second half of the $17.5 billion, four-year lending program that expires next year.
Additionally, doubts emerged regarding the anti-corruption court law that was approved by the Verkhovna Rada, as Ukrainian authorities had inserted an amendment that critics say would effectively give amnesty to suspects in top-level graft cases.
