Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has signed a law on amendments to Article 218 of the Criminal Procedure Code regarding the duties of investigators, the presidential press service reported on July 22.
As reported, on July 1, the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, made it obligatory for investigators to give copies of materials about criminal cases to defendants.
According the amendments, materials about pretrial investigations are to be given, filed and numbered, to defendants. Investigators must give copies of materials about criminal cases to defendants, if the defenders request this, and this must be stipulated in a protocol on informing defendants about the end of an investigation and on handing materials about a criminal case to defendants and their lawyers.
