Rada refuses to cancel Lozovyi’s amendments: business supports them
16 January 14:51
Members of the Ukrainian parliament have not included a draft law abolishing the so-called Lozovyi amendments in their agenda. This was announced by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
“Lozovyi’s amendments…. 185 votes for inclusion in the agenda of the session … ❌ even this was thwarted. This will be a big problem for the IMF,”
– the MP wrote on Telegram.
What are Lozovyi’s “amendments”?
“The Lozovyi amendments were adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in October 2017. They were named after the MP from the Radical Party of Lyashko who proposed them, Andriy Lozovyi. These rules came into force on March 15, 2018.
the “Lozovyi amendments” resulted in the following changes to the legislation:
- Part 1 of Art. 284 of the CPC was supplemented with clause 10, according to which the expiration of the pre-trial investigation period after the notification of suspicion became the basis for closing criminal proceedings.
- The procedure for extending the pre-trial investigation period has been changed. Previously, the head of the prosecutor’s office could extend the term to 6 and 12 months, but after these changes, such powers were transferred to the investigating judge.
These amendments have become high-profile and controversial, with anti-corruption activists actively opposing them.
on December 5, 2023, G7 ambassadors recommend that the current SAPO reform project be taken as a basis and the Lozovyi amendments be canceled.
on December 6, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement adopted a version of the SAPO reform bill (No. 10060) that does not completely abolish the Lozovyi amendments.
The Anti-Corruption Action Center noted that the document allows corruption cases to continue to be closed without hindrance through manipulation of deadlines.
on December 8, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed a law on the independence of the SAPO, but did not repeal the Lozovyi amendments.
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Current draft laws
There are several draft laws under consideration by the Parliament that address the Lozovyi amendments, but only one of them fully repeals them. This is draft law No. 12367-3, which has already been supported by the NABU and the SAPO. They noted that this draft law provides for important changes to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, in particular
- abolishes the provision on closing criminal proceedings due to the expiration of the pre-trial investigation. This will make it impossible for individuals to avoid responsibility due to formal deadlines, even in cases where they have been notified of suspicion. This is especially important for investigating serious and especially serious crimes;
- allows the head of the SAPO to extend the pre-trial investigation without the need to apply to the investigating judge. This will make it impossible to automatically close the proceedings due to the formal expiration of the investigation period;
- gives the SAPO the right to create joint investigative teams in NABU cases, which will allow for faster disclosure of complex corruption schemes committed in different jurisdictions;
- regulates the issue of extradition in corruption crimes: both the Prosecutor General and the Head of the SAPO will now be able to submit requests for extradition of persons suspected in NABU criminal proceedings. This will speed up the process of returning individuals to Ukraine to bring them to justice.
Business is in favor of Lozovyi’s amendments
However, as it turned out, not all authoritative figures want the amendments to be canceled. In particular, a number of business associations and businessmen spoke in support of them.
Thus, the following associations issued a joint statement today:
- Federation of Employers of Ukraine;
- Association of Entrepreneurs – ATO Veterans;
- Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs;
- Union Diia.City United;
- Manifesto 42;
- Coalition of Business Communities for the Modernization of Ukraine;
- Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs;
- International business community Board;
- And the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In their statement, they emphasize that these draft laws provide for the abolition of the automatic closure of criminal proceedings after the expiration of the pre-trial investigation. And this provision, which is so popular with anti-corruption activists, is extremely disliked by business.
Anti-corruption activists claim that due to the implementation of Lozovyi’s amendments, a number of criminal proceedings for corruption are closed due to the expiration of the investigation period. This is the reason why many corrupt officials avoid punishment.
The business argues that the abolition of the “deadline” for investigations will actually make them indefinite and “eternal,” and this will create an additional opportunity for pressure on business.
“…now the case is investigated for no more than 12 months after the suspicion, but they want it to be indefinite for everyone. This is another opportunity for additional pressure on citizens, as well as searches, arrests and all the rest by pre-trial investigation bodies without any time limits!”
– says Oleksandr Sokolovskyi, head of the All-Ukrainian Association of Light Industry Employers.
The businessman emphasizes that, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office, in 2024, the share of criminal cases against businesses that are initiated by law enforcement without further transfer to court with an indictment reached a historic high of 77%. He is convinced that the vast majority of these cases are used by law enforcement agencies solely to exert corrupt pressure on business. If they also take away the deadline for the investigation, this pressure will only increase, the business believes.
“…such changes may create additional leverage on entrepreneurs and potential pressure on business, as well as create grounds for arbitrariness of law enforcement agencies,”
– the business associations said in a statement.
They called on MPs
- not to support these draft laws;
- initiate a broad discussion with business representatives, experts, and the public to develop balanced changes that will improve access to justice without creating additional risks for business.