Rada may review today bills on e-declarations, COVID-19 compensation

Ukraine’s parliament could review today (Dec. 4) and
vote on two legislative items: a bill that renews criminal responsibility for
knowingly filing fraudulent electronic declarations, and another bill to offer
financial support to entrepreneurs hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported
by the pravda.com.ua news site. The compromise reached on the e-declarations
bill would set punishment for fraudulent claims of a minimum of UAH 9 mln (USD
0.32 mln) at (1) 3,000-5,000 untaxed minimum wages (UAH 0.051 – 0.085 mln
currently), or (2) civic work, or (3) arrest for up to two years and a
prohibition on holding state posts, the pravda.com.ua news site reported,
citing Parliamentary Law Enforcement Committee Chair Denys Monastyrskiy. “Such
a compromise has been achieved. There isn’t a better one for the session hall
so far,” he said.

The punishment in the prior law allowed for arrest of
up to five years. Recall, the Constitutional Court issued a scandalous ruling on Oct. 27
that the criminal punishment for filing fraudulent e-declarations was excessive
and unconstitutional. Yet the ruling undermined almost all branches of
Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure that was built since the EuroMaidan
revolt of 2013-2014 with IMF sponsorship.

The bill supporting entrepreneurs affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic was submitted by President Zelensky would offer them one-off
payments of up to UAH 8,000. The funds – about UAH 15 bln to be offered to two
million entrepreneurs – would be drawn from the government’s fund to combat
COVID-19, the epravda.com.ua news site reported, citing cabinet estimates.

Zenon Zawada: The
e-declarations requirement won’t be effective if the punishment is exceedingly
light. And that is what parliament is set to approve as a replacement at this
moment. This is disappointing considering that legal experts questioned the
very basis and authority of the Constitutional Court in ruling to overturn what
it deemed to be excessive punishments.

We doubt that Western authorities will approve of the
new legislation to repair the anti-corruption infrastructure if the new
conditions are not effective. There is still the chance that parliament’s
leaders will decide today to follow the example of its legal policy committee.
It has delayed the review of all legislation until Dec. 12, or after it
receives the anticipated analyses of proposed bills from the Council of
Europe’s Venice Commission.