Parliament developing bill to regulate Constitutional Court, speaker says

A parliamentary
working group to resolve Ukraine’s constitutional crisis is developing
legislation to regulate the work of the Constitutional Court, speaker Dmytro
Razumkov told a television news network on Dec. 18. “I hope that in the new
year, MPs will develop a bill that would truly regulate the work of the
Constitutional Court so that we don’t come up against unpleasant news again the
next time,” he said. The parliamentary committee on legal policy is also
developing a bill requiring a two-thirds majority for the court’s rulings, he
said. These efforts come after the European Commission for Democracy through
Law, also known as the Venice Commission, recommended outlining the details of
the court’s functioning to prevent future similar problems.

President Zelensky
said he will lead Ukraine in 2021 in pursuing “global judicial reform” in an
interview with the nytimes.com news site that was published on Dec. 19. Many
bills have been prepared for these reforms, as well as the stages for
introducing these reforms, he said. Ukrainian judges are a “sore spot” for the
country, he said. “We are currently battling with certain judges of the
Constitutional Court, who want to ruin the anti-corruption infrastructure in
Ukraine,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zelensky
claimed his administration launched and completed the reform of the Prosecutor
General’s Office, which has been at the center of many corruption scandals.
“It’s not only the law,” he said of the alleged reforms. “Much was reformatted.
Prosecutors have gone through a competitive process.” His administration has
found a balance between law enforcement bodies, while a reform will soon be
launched of the Security Service of Ukraine, which is still centered on
economic crimes, he said.

Zenon Zawada: Zelensky’s claims of “global
judicial reforms” are hard to believe after his claims that reforms to the
scandal-plagued Prosecutor General’s Office are successful and completed. His
alleged reforms to the Prosecutor General’s Office have been criticized by
Ukraine’s Western NGO community. The reality is Zelensky is not a visionary,
but a political amateur trying to survive day-by-day. In terms of pro-Western
reforms, he has shown a pattern of pursuing the bare minimum policies to
satisfy Western requirements, particularly IMF demands. Beyond that, he has no
greater vision for Ukraine or commitments to Western institutions such as the
rule of law. That’s what we can expect from him in 2021.

It’s worth noting that the public trust for Razumkov is now higher than
for Zelensky, according to a poll conducted between Dec. 4 and 9, which was
released on Dec. 16 by the Razumkov Center (founded by the speaker’s late
father). We believe this is the result of Razumkov gradually building a
reputation as a truly serious young reformer, whereas Zelensky is being
recognized for mostly talk and little action, particularly when it comes to
Western integration. It’s quite possible that Razumkov’s advantage will spread
to other polls, and throughout 2021, which will be perceived as a threat by
Zelensky, who is very sensitive to ratings.