You're reading: Poroshenko tables in parliament bill on creation of High Anti-Corruption Court

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill on the creation of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) in Ukraine, the press service of the head of state reported on June 19.

The president defined this document as urgent for extraordinary consideration by parliament.

“In accordance with Article 93 and Part 2, Article 125 of the Constitution of Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko submitted to the Verkhovna Rada the draft law of Ukraine ‘On the Establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court’,” the report says.

The purpose of the draft law is to fulfill the requirements of the Constitution of Ukraine, the law “On the High Anti-Corruption Court” and the Law “On the Judicial System and the Status of Judges” for the commencement of activities of the HACC.

Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Oleksiy Filatov will report on the bill during its consideration at a plenary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada.

The presidential bill has not yet been posted on the parliament’s website.

As reported, on June 7, the Verkhovna Rada adopted presidential bill (No. 7440) on the High Anti-Corruption Court, which is a key requirement to continue cooperation with the IMF.

Some provisions of this bill were amended at second reading following consultations with the IMF. The most controversial clause concerned the decisive role of the public council of international experts during the selection of judges.

In particular, the law determines the procedure for holding a competition for the selection of anti-corruption judges.

According to the wording of the bill at second reading, criminal proceedings against corruption crimes provided for in the commentary of Article 45 (1) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, Article 206 (2), 209, 366 (1) of the Criminal Code will be subjected to the High Anti-Corruption Court.

The law enters into force on the day after its publication, with the exception of certain provisions that come into force with the commencement of the work of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

On June 13, the law on the HACC was published in the parliament’s Holos Ukrainy newspaper.

On June 14, in accordance with the procedure specified in Part 2, Article 125 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the head of state sent the draft law “On the Establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court” to the High Council of Justice (HCJ). According to the Constitution, courts in Ukraine are created and liquidated by laws, whose drafts are submitted to the parliament by the president of Ukraine after consultations with the HCJ, after which the Verkhovna Rada should support a respective bill.

On June 16, Poroshenko said that he planned to register this bill in the Verkhovna Rada if it were supported by the HCJ. The president noted that he would define the document as urgent and would ask the parliament to vote for it.

The HCJ at a meeting on June 18 unanimously supported the presidential draft law “On the Establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court.”

Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy said that if the president submits the bill to the Verkhovna Rada on June 18, the parliament could adopt it on Thursday, June 21.