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The Justice Ministry urges President Viktor Yanukovych to impose a veto on a law endorsed by the Verkhovna Rada on March 10 to postpone enactment of a package of anti-corruption laws from 1 April 2010 until 1 January 2011. The Justice Ministry urges President Viktor Yanukovych to impose a veto on a law endorsed by the Verkhovna Rada on March 10 to postpone enactment of a package of anti-corruption laws from 1 April 2010 until 1 January 2011.

Ukrainian News learned this from a statement by the press service of the Justice Ministry.

"The Justice Ministry considers it necessary to propose the President of Ukraine to impose a veto on the law of Ukraine 'About Amendments to the Some Laws of Ukraine Concerning Prevention and Counteraction to Corruption," reads the statement.

The Justice Ministry expressed its concern with the repeated postponement of the enactment of the anti-corruption laws.

According to the statement, the endorsement of the law by the Verkhovna Rada complicates the holding of reforms in Ukraine and can have negative effects on the country's realization of recommendations from certain international organizations in the field of anti-corruption legislation.

First of all this concerns the recommendations from the Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), since Ukraine has to report about the execution of the recommendations during a plenary session meeting of GRECO on March 22.

Moreover, on March 28 Ukraine has to submit information about execution of recommendations from the Istanbul concerning counteraction to corruption.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, on March 10 the Verkhovna Rada postponed enactment of a package of anti-corruption laws from April 1, 2010 until January 1, 2011.

On December 23, 2009 moved the day for enacting the package of anti-corruption laws from January 1, 2010 to April 1, 2010.

The Justice Ministry has called on then President Viktor Yuschenko to veto the law that postponed enactment of a package of anti-corruption laws from January 1 to April 1, 2010

The Justice Ministry considers the suspension of enactment of the package of anti-corruption laws unacceptable because of the high level of corruption in the country.

The parliament adopted the draft law No. 0875 entitled "On Amendments to certain Legislative Acts on Responsibility for Corruption," the draft law No. 0876 entitled "On the Principles for Preventing and Comparing Corruption," and the draft law No. 0877 entitled "On the Responsibility of Corporate Entities for of Corruption" on June 11 as the basis for preventing and combating corruption.