Legal news in Ukraine: Laws on state budget, abolition of parliamentary immunity and accusers of corruption came into force, judges’ salaries have been changed, Prosecutor General’s Office has been established in Ukraine
The Law on the State Budget of Ukraine for 2020 entered into force
On January 1, 2020, the Law of Ukraine «On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2020» came into force.
From January 1, 2020, a living wage for one person is 2027 UAH, from July 1 – 2118 UAH, from December 1 – 2189 UAH.
The minimum pension from January 1, 2020 is 1638 UAH, from July 1 – 1712 UAH, from December 1 – 1769 UAH.
The minimum salary is set at 4723 UAH as opposed to 4173 UAH in 2019.
The budget for the State Judicial Administration provides for 14.62 billion UAH (last year 14.1 million UAH), of which 14.61 were allocated to ensure the administration of justice by local, appeal courts and the functioning of organs and institutions of the justice system.
The financing of the Supreme Court increased from 2.1 to 2.4 billion UAH, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine – from 267 to 316 million UAH and the High Anti-Corruption Court from 318 to 373 million UAH.
The law on the abolition of parliamentary immunity came into force
On January 1, 2020, the Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to Article 80 of the Constitution of Ukraine (regarding the inviolability of people’s deputies of Ukraine)» entered into force.
The law excludes two paragraphs from Article 80 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which stipulate the inviolability of people's deputies of Ukraine: «People’s deputies are guaranteed parliamentary immunity» and «People’s deputies of Ukraine cannot be prosecuted, detained or arrested without the consent of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine».
The new version of this article of the Constitution is adopted as follows: «Article 80. People’s deputies of Ukraine are not legally liable for the results of voting or statements in parliament and its bodies, with the exception of liability for insult or slander».
It should be noted that the project was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada on August 30, 2019 by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, noting as urgent. Its initiator was the predecessor of Zelenskyi Petro Poroshenko.
Also on December 18, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law of Ukraine «On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine in order to bring it into line with the Law of Ukraine» on Amending Article 80 of the Constitution of Ukraine on the Inviolability of People's Deputies of Ukraine». The law prescribes investigative actions in relation to people’s deputies in the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
Accusers of corruption will receive a reward
On January 1, 2020, the Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On Prevention of Corruption» on corruption denunciators» entered into force.
The law introduces the concept of accusers of corruption, according to which «the accuser is an individual, if there is a conviction that the information is reliable, he reported on possible corruption or corruption-related offenses».
Information about possible corrupt officials can be submitted anonymously through the hotlines or by e-mail of anti-corruption bodies, in particular the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption or the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
At the same time, the state should provide protection for accusers and their families, including legal protection. Accusers have the right to receive psychological assistance and are exempted from legal liability.
The corruption report must contain evidence of the violation. A preliminary check is carried out for each appeal, it should last no more than 10 days. Based on its results, a decision is made on the appointment of an internal audit or investigation, in case of confirmation of facts; transfer of materials to the preliminary investigation body in the event of the establishment of evidence of a criminal offense or the closure of the proceedings in case of non-confirmation of the facts.
Accusers have the right to confidentiality – it is forbidden to disclose information about the identity of the accuser, his relatives or other data that can identify them. For disclosure of such information, a fine or removal from office is provided.
Accusers who have reported a corruption crime, the losses of which are 5,000 or more times the cost of living for able-bodied persons, receive a fee.
The amount of remuneration is 10% of the monetary amount of the subject of a corruption crime, but may not exceed 3 thousand minimum wages, that is 12.5 million UAH.
The salaries of judges have been changed since January 1
From January 1, 2020, the fourth part of paragraph 24 of section XII «Final and transitional provisions» of the Law of Ukraine «On the Judicial System and the Status of Judges» is effective.
The norm determines that from January 1, 2020 the official salary for a judge of a local court is set at 30 living wages and for a judge of an appeal court and a higher specialized court – 50 living wages for able-bodied people.
It should be noted that from January 1, 2020, the living wage for able-bodied people is 2102 UAH, from July 1 –2197 UAH, from December 1 – 2270 UAH.
It is worth noting that on December 23, 2019, the Verkhovna Rada registered government bill No. 2670, which proposes to postpone the shift for 1 year and establish in 2020 an official salary for a local court judge in the amount of 25 living wages, and 40 living wages for a judge of the court of appeal and a high specialized court.
The Prosecutor General’s Office has been established in Ukraine
On January 2, 2020, instead of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, the Office of the Prosecutor General began its work. The corresponding order of the Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka was published in the newspaper «Voice of Ukraine» on December 23, 2019.
The Office of the Prosecutor General organizes and coordinates the activities of all prosecution bodies, ensures the proper functioning of the Unified Register of pre-trial investigations and its maintenance by pre-trial investigation bodies, determines a uniform procedure for reporting on the state of criminal wrongfulness and the work of the prosecutor in order to ensure the effective performance of the functions of the prosecutor's office, and also manages the facilities state property that belong to the management of the Office.
The Office of the Prosecutor General is headed by the Prosecutor General, who has two first deputies and deputies, as well as the Deputy Prosecutor General, the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
It should be noted, of the 1339 prosecutors of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, only 610 have passed the certification. 55% of prosecutors left the prosecution authorities.
