Poroshenko Bloc paid authors of criticized anti-corruption court bill

The Solidarity Poroshenko Bloc party paid more than
UAH 1 mln in summer 2017 to fund of a civic group founded by two legal experts
who helped draft the president’s bill to create the anti-corruption court,
according to party filings with the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.
Six tranches were paid as part of an agreement between the party and the
Innovations and Development Fund. Its two founders belonged to a group of
experts to draft the legislation that was supposed to have been independent.

Recall, the IMF and World Bank criticized the
president’s bill to create the anti-corruption court – a key requirement for
future loans – for failing to conform with standards set by the Venice
Commission of the Council of Europe.

At its Feb. 6 session, parliament failed to include
the president’s bill in its daily agenda. The same day, the president called
upon parliament to begin reviewing “immediately” the bill he submitted to
create the court.

Zenon Zawada: The creation of the High Anti-Corruption Court is the linchpin in
beginning a serious battle against corruption based on unbiased judicial
rulings, criminal convictions and punitive sentences, which have been absent in
Ukrainian statehood. The president has been resisting the court’s creation
(according to Council of Europe standards) and this latest evidence implies the
extreme lengths he may have gone to undermine that. We will continue to observe
closely what happens to the various bills to create the anti-corruption court,
including the president’s draft.